We respectfully acknowledge the land on which we gather as the ancestral homelands of the Beothuk [bee-oth-uck], whose culture has now been erased forever.  We also acknowledge the island of Ktaqmkuk [uk-dah-hum-gook] (Newfoundland) as the unceded, traditional territory of the Beothuk and the Mi'kmaq [mee-gum-maq]. And we acknowledge Labrador as the traditional and ancestral homelands of the Innu [in-new] of Nitassinan [ne-tass-eh-nen], the Inuit [in-new-eet] of Nunatsiavut [nu-nat-see-ahvut], and the Inuit of NunatuKavut [nu-nah- tuhk-ah-vut].

 

We recognize all First Peoples who were here before us, those who live with us now, and the seven generations to come.

 

As First Peoples have done since time immemorial, we strive to be responsible stewards of the land and to respect the cultures, ceremonies, and traditions of all who call it home.

 

As we open our hearts and minds to the past, we commit ourselves to working in a spirit of truth and reconciliation to make a better future for all.

 

We are grateful for the opportunity to meet here, and we thank all the generations of people who have taken care of this land and who have been stewards of this land - for thousands of years.

 

We must take every opportunity to commit to the struggle against the systems of oppression that have dispossessed Indigenous people of their lands, and that have denied their rights to self-determination.