Creation Story By Mike Cywink
As Canada has designated the month of June as Indigenous History Month and June 21st as Indigenous Peoples' Day (formally Indigenous Solidarity Day) in an effort to come closer to reconciliation, it is a great opportunity to learn more and educate ourselves on the history of the Indigenous peoples who are the original caretakers of this land.
Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have played an important role in the preservation and protection of the earth through advocacy for clean water, opposition to fracking, and education on traditional foods in order to achieve food sovereignty. Indigenous peoples have been fighting for Mother Earth, on the frontlines of many environmental issues/protests of the day.
The London Arts Council would like to thank the original caretakers of the land and those who are continuously taking care of our environmental wellbeing, which is also intrinsically linked to our spiritual, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
We acknowledge our privilege of working and living on this land that was taken from the original people and understand that we need to participate in making meaningful efforts and actions towards reconciliation. We acknowledge that the Indigenous peoples of this land were also the original storytellers and participated in many elaborate and beautiful artforms pre-contact.
Therefore, we are committed to working towards creating and cultivating inroads towards equity and accessibility of services to Indigenous artists, creators, and arts organizations within our day-to-day operations and programs.
We encourage you to continue to learn about whose land you are living and working on, and to remember that ally is a verb which requires actions.
If you are looking for resources to make the most of your Indigenous History month, check the resources below:
London Arts Council Land Acknowledgement:
Watch some free films by Indigenous filmmakers:
Indigenous Solidarity Day pow wow:
Whose Land are you on:
Ally Toolkit:
Biindigen’s 30 Day Indigenous History Month Challenge:
In friendship,
Janet Antone with the rest of the London Arts Council Team
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