Lori Huston (she/her)

I want to acknowledge my relations to place by locating myself in recognizing the traditional lands that I live in and the places informing my perspectives. I have completed my graduating project on the Robinson Superior Treaty, Fort William First Nation - Thunder Bay, Ontario. Also, informed by my home community of Red Lake, Ontario, and many First Nation communities in Treaty 3, Treaty 5, and Treaty 9 located across northwestern Ontario situated on the traditional ancestral and unceded territory of the Anishnaabeg people.

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My thoughts are that land acknowledgements can't merely be a statement. We must reflect on the land and place. What does it mean to live where we live? It reminds us that land acknowledgments are a living and active practice. The process is incredibly valuable as we resist the notion of a static 'ticking off the box approach. As educators, we need to commit to pedagogies that support reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples of Canada. We notice the impacts of colonization even when it is consistently overshadowed in our country - we need to create awareness with others and bring light to the shadows. We can start by acknowledging Indigenous communities' resistance to living without freshwater; we can learn about the history of the Indigenous people in our communities, such as speaking/sharing landmarks that once stood as residential schools.

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A Poem I wrote in reflection to the image below of Red Lake. 

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This Place...

This is the Ontario I know. 

This is the open land of exploration and life. 

This is nature and spirit before we open our eyes. 

This is the sunrise mid-February, the arrival of light each day. 

This is the Red Lake area, the land in which I was born and raised. 

This is an element of life that floods my heart. 

This is the beauty that is always near. 

This is me feeling inspired to write my reflection in connection to this land.