One of the ways we manage stress in our lives is by spending time outside in nature, around trees and water, feeling the sun above us, wind around us, and a sense of being connected to the earth below our feet. We are privileged to live in Toronto with easy access to beautiful local ravines, forested trails, countless rivers and of course, Lake Ontario, one of the five Great Lakes. In contemplating how rejuvenating time in nature is to our mental and physical health, it is important to us that we acknowledge the history of this land, the impact of settlers, in particular, our profession as social workers, and our own responsibility moving forward.

Toronto is the traditional territory of many Indigenous nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples, and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

As social workers dedicated to equitable family building, we must acknowledge the historical and present-day harms done (with the active involvement of social workers) to Indigenous women, men, children, families and communities through colonisation, systemic racism, stolen children and residential schools (the “Sixties Scoop”), forced sterilization, and past and present-day disproportionate child welfare checks and foster care placements.

In acknowledging our gratitude to live, work and play on these lands, we reiterate our commitment to inclusive, non-discriminatory practice; to honour the rich history of the First Nations peoples that came before us, and especially in the context of our family building practice, to be cognisant of the generational trauma inherited by those who remain on these lands today. Our hope is that this statement serves not only as a Land Acknowledgement as part of our individual responsibility to Truth and Reconciliation, but as a steadfast promise to everyone who comes to us for counselling supports.

Dara and Blair
January 2023