Territorial Acknowledgement

As most of our team’s work takes place on the University of Waterloo’s main campus, we would like to begin by acknowledging that the main campus is situated on the Haldimand Tract, the land promised to the Six Nations that includes six miles on each side of the Grand River, and is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Attawandaron, and Anishinaabeg Peoples.  ​

This territory is also governed by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum and the Two Row Wampum, which emphasize principles of mutual respect, cooperation, and non-interference in every relationship.

We recognize that the original Peoples of this land have been researchers since time immemorial. Indigenous Peoples have always been information gatherers, systems thinkers, knowledge holders and keepers, and teachers. Tracking, hunting, fishing, gathering food, shaping the landscape, understanding the impacts of the climate on our lives from micro to macro scales; this is research. Knowledge mobilization in Indigenous communities occurs through the transmission of oral traditions and codification of various types of evidence that have been shared over centuries, and include methods and traditions which have been tested, refined, and revisited. Indigenous communities practice constant verification through repetition and re-verification, inference and prediction, and make empirical observations about recognized patterns of events.  ​

Indigenous research and researchers around the world inspire us with their sustainable and culturally informed innovations, and in our work we aim to honour, celebrate, and support the Indigenous research and innovation taking place here at UW and in community.  ​

We also acknowledge that everyone is on a learning journey, especially about the history between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the land we now call Canada and the ongoing legacies of colonialism. We aim to meet our UW community members where they are and provide educational resources, advice on wise practices, and offer guiding principles for research project plans with understanding and care. ​

We invite everyone to learn more about the history of the land, the responsibilities outlined in the original agreements in this territory, and our relationships with each other. We encourage reflection on how we can uphold the spirit of these relationships in the work that we do here at the University and in our personal lives. We also support participation in the University’s active work toward reconciliation, decolonization, and Indigenization that takes place across our campuses through research, learning, teaching, and community building, and is coordinated within the Office of Indigenous Relations. ​

References:

​George Nicholas. (Feb 21 2018). “When Scientists “Discover” What Indigenous People Have Known For Centuries.” The Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-science-takes-so-long-catch-up-traditional-knowledge-180968216/