As followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to participate in the reconciliation of all things and the repairing of our relationship with the land, and the caretakers of this land. We acknowledge and name the original and current inhabitants of this land, on which we are privileged to carry out our ministry:
The Haudenosaunee, “the people of the longhouse.” A confederacy of five nations including the Seneca, O-non-dowa-gah, the “People of the Great Hills” and the “Keepers of the Western Door.”
The Wendat Confederacy, including the Petun Nation, who called themselves Tionontati, the “People Among the Hills/Mountains.”
The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, part of the Anishinaabe Nation. In the Anishinaabemowin language, the word “Missisakis,” means “many river mouths.”
We give thanks to those who have and continue to deeply cherish this land, for this land named Toronto from the Mowhawk tkaronto, which means “where there are trees standing in the water.” We commit to living in peace and friendship with the many Indigenous Peoples and Nations across Turtle Island.
Find out more about the land on which you live here: https://native-land.ca/
Featured image: Musee Huron Wendat, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
