Land
Acknowledgement

Shakespeare in Action is fortunate to call Toronto’s Weston Community our home. We acknowledge that this is land that has been stewarded for millennia by the Annishnabeg, the Wendat, the Seneca, the Petun, the Mississaugas of the Credit River First Nation, and other nations both recorded and unrecorded. Presently we are located right alongside the Humber River and Weston Road. The Humber River is known to the Anishnaabe as “Cobechenonk” which means “leave the canoes and go back”] and was also called “Niwa’ah Onega’gaih’ih” – “Little Thundering Water.” This waterway ran parallel to the Carrying Place Trail and has been essential to human activity, trade, and travel on this land for thousands of years.

At SIA, we believe that we must face Truth before we can create meaningful and lasting reconciliation. In truth, our country was founded on violence against Indigenous Peoples, their culture and their identity. In truth, this legacy continues today. We wish for the respective colonial forces, the Canadian Government and various Christian religious institutions, including but not limited to the Catholic Church, to be held accountable for the genocide committed against Indigenous Peoples on this land. We also wish to acknowledge the many settler and refugee communities on this land who were brought here directly or indirectly as a result of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade or other forms of European colonial disruption. We wish to remind our leaders that they have yet to create a sustainable plan to address all 94 calls to action in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Report.

Resources

Crisis Line

If you are or know of a residential school survivor, we’d like to share the National Indian Residential School Crisis Line:

1-866-925-4419

Learn and Listen

If you are unfamiliar with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), we’d encourage you to take some time and go through the reports alongside the ninety-four recommendations.

All-ages Books to Read

If you’re curious about how to introduce Indigenous authors and histories with your children, please see the following resources below.

Indigenous-Led Performing Arts Organizations

SIA believes artists and story-tellers will support us all in our path forward as a country.

We invite you to make yourself familiar with the following Indigenous-led performing arts organizations in Toronto.  Please follow them through their newsletter and socials, and if you can, donate: