AMAPCEO strives to:
- encourage Indigenous members to apply for activist and leadership positions within our union;
- provide cultural safety and Indigenous awareness training to all members;
- enhance provisions related to Indigenous rights, non-discrimination, and cultural events within our collective agreements;
- and collaborate with Indigenous peoples and communities.
These enduring agreements between Indigenous peoples and those of us who now live and work here require us to be mindful of our shared responsibilities to the land and each other. And so, let us all come together in an atmosphere of respect and peace—to do good work together with Good Minds—and continue to build stronger and healthier relationships with fellow union members, our employers, and the spaces in which we are so fortunate to inhabit.
Tkaronto (Toronto)
We would like to acknowledge Tkaronto (TGar-on-DOH), a Mohawk word meaning “the place in the water where the trees are standing.”
We live and work on the traditional unceded territory of Haudenosaunee (HODE-en-oh-SHOW-nee) speaking nations, including the Wendat, Seneca and Mohawk. These nations have been here since time immemorial and were in more recent times joined by the Mississaugas of the Credit.
This territory is covered by the Two Row Wampum, whereby the Haudenosaunee allowed the Dutch (in 1613) and later the British to share some of their territory as long as each group agreed to abide by the values of peace, friendship, and respect, and not to interfere in the affairs of the other.
This territory is also covered by the Dish with One Spoon Wampum - an agreement signed in 1685 in Cataraqui (kah-tah-ROCK-way) near present day Kingston between the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Confederacy and the Anishnaabe (a-NI-shi-NAH-bay). This treaty allows the Anishnaabe to travel and trade peacefully and respectfully throughout Haudenosaunee territories; taking only what they need from the land.
Today, Toronto is home to Indigenous peoples from many nations, as well as settlers and immigrants from around the world.
Land acknowledgements for other regions coming soon