Georgian Bluffs council has approved a recommendation to implement the use of a Land Acknowledgment Statement.
A council report from Georgian Bluffs Clerk Brittany Drury notes during a meeting on February 24, council asked staff to prepare a Land Acknowledgment Statement report in recognizing the rights of the former and existing First Nation communities in the Grey Bruce region.
Since then, staff consulted with local First Nation communities and have put together a statement for council’s approval.
The statement reads as:
“We acknowledge with respect, the history, spirituality, and culture of the Anishinaabek: The People of the Three Fires known as Ojibway, Odawa, and Pottawatomi Nation, who have inhabited this land from time immemorial. And further give thanks to the Chippewas of Saugeen, and the Chippes of Nawash, now known as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, as the traditional keepers of this land. We also Recognize, the Metis and Inuit whose ancestors shared this land and these waters. May we all, as Treaty People, live with respect on this land, and live-in peace and friendship with all its diverse peoples.”
The statement will be read prior to starting business at council and committees of council meetings, special events, and any other circumstances deemed by council and in consultation with the CAO and Clerk.
Georgian Bluffs Mayor Dwight Burley, along with other councillors, applauded the statement calling it well crafted. The clerk identified it was culmination of several consultations including the Grey Sauble Conservation Authority and neighbouring First Nation communities.
“It take bits and pieces of all those involved including those former and existing communities that are surrounding the township of Georgian Bluffs and also those who were formally the inhabitants of Georgian Bluffs,” says Drury.
