Land Acknowledgement
Mi’kmaw version, translation provided by Mi’kmaw Kina’matnewey
MSVU etek Kjipuktuk, Mi’kma’ki, Mi’kmaq wmitkiwew ta’n mna’q iknmuetasinuk. Ula maqamikew wiaqtek Wantaqo’tie’l aqq Ila’matultimkewe’l Ankukamkewe’l kisutasikipn 1725ek aqq 1779ek. Ula ankukamkewe’l ketlewite’tasikipn Mawi-espe’k Ilsutekemkewey Kanata aqq keknuite’tasik Teli-alsutmi’tij ula Maqamikew L’nu’k ( wiaqwikasik kitk 1763ewey Eleke’witewey Teplutasik aqq elt ankukamkewe’l weja’tekemkek aqq Pkesikn35(1) 1982ewey Wi’katikn Teplutasik Tel-pukuik Kanata). Ankukamkewe’l na keknue’kl kisa’matimkl ta’n wettaqne’wasikl tplutaqnn wjit Te’sunemiksijik tel-wije’wmi’titl Ankukamkewe’l tela’matulti’tij. Kepmite’tmek kjijitaqnwesko’tmi’tij Mi’kmaq wjit teli-anko’tasik maqamikew aqq sam’qwan aqq elt teli-kina’muksi’k kisiku’k wejkwa’taqnik, kiskuk aqq elmi’knik
English Version
MSVU is located in Kjipuktuk (Halifax), part of Mi’kma’ki, the unceded ancestral territory which remains the homeland of the Mi’kmaq Nation. This territory is covered by the Covenant Chain of Treaties of Peace and Friendship signed between 1725 and 1779. These treaties are affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada and recognize Aboriginal Title (which is embedded in both the 1763 Royal Proclamation and in section 35(1) of the 1982 Constitution Act). The treaties are living agreements that establish the rules for an ongoing Treaty relationship between nations.
We pay respect to the knowledge embedded in the Mi’kmaw custodians of the lands and waters and to the Elders, past, present, and future.
Positionality As an institution
MSVU has committed to continuing to decolonize course content within all faculties at the Mount. First-voice consultations and insight from the Special Advisor to MSVU on Indigenous Affairs has taken place throughout the development of this course.
As the course developer
As a treaty person in Mi’kma’ki I am committed to the (un)learning and giving required for meaningful allyship and reconciliation. The development of this course and supporting resource is part of this ongoing commitment.
To support my own (un)learning and deeper engagement with this process, I completed The 4 Season of Reconciliation Course developed by The First Nations University of Canada and received first-voice insights from the Special Advisor to MSVU on Indigenous Affairs, Patrick Small Legs-Nagge and MSVU’s Auntie in Residence, Emily Pictou-Roberts. I am also guided by the perspectives and voices of Elders and Indigenous leaders in Early Childhood Education that I am thankful to sit with as part of the advisory committee working to develop a Two-Eyed Seeing – Land Based training module for Early Childhood Educators and ECEC leaders in this province.
As Early Childhood Educators working in Mi’kma’ki
Early Childhood Educators play an important role in fostering children’s relationships with the land and supporting the maintenance of deep connection to the natural world. As discourse around nature and outdoor play increases, there is an increased need for dialogue around outdoor/nature play and land-based learning. Decolonizing perspectives and relationship building with Indigenous educators and Elders to support authentic and respectful engagement with these ideas is a vital part of an early childhood educator’s educational journey.
Decolonizing perspectives of outdoor play as well as the important distinction between outdoor play and Indigenous land-based learning, are prominent components of this course, with two weeks dedicated exclusively to these topics that include time spent engaging with the land from an Indigenous-informed perspective.
