Land Acknowledgement

Land Acknowledgement

Land acknowledgements are important for recognizing and respecting the traditional lands of Indigenous peoples and are an opportunity to create awareness of where we live and the treaties that were made. It is the recognition of how settler people have benefited from the treaties and lands, and how colonialism continues today. It is important to note that a land acknowledgement is only part of the process of reconciliation, collaboration, and decolonization.

Hope Mennonite is seeking ways to redress the wrongs done by educating ourselves, building relationships of respect, and speaking truth to power to advocate for political, social, and spiritual justice. Our community, beliefs and faith call us to acts of peace and justice.

Here are a few ways Hope Mennonite has acted out in faith:

• Private Members Bill C-262 (an act to ensure United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) be part of Canada’s law): members of the church created a group to help push this bill into legislation. They initiated a postcard campaign to all Members of Parliament in 2017.
• This group organized a mass walk/march to the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation in September 2017.
• Many members of the church supported a rally for Bill C-262 at Canadian Mennonite University in March 2019. Read about the rally here.
• Many members walked in solidarity with others in the Global Climate Strike on September 27, 2019.
• Hope Mennonite sent a letter to Justice Minister Lametti to ask him to pass Bill C-15.
• Justice Team organized a letter campaign to TD Bank asking them to divest from fossil fuels. Download letter here: Letter to TD.
• Justice Team – have been working on ways to engage our community.

Responding to Residential School revelations 

Recently, more than a thousand unmarked graves have been identified at the sites of church-run residential schools. The discovery, long spoken-of by survivors, has shaken Indigenous communities and settler society. How might we respond? 

As we lament the violence of the residential schools, we need to learn more about the settler-colonial structures that created them. We need to support those who are addressing the past and present harms: 

• Consider listening to recent podcasts from the Assembly of First Nations.  
• Reflect on the ways that Mennonites have been involved in the Indian School System: see Confessing the Past
• Prayerfully read through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, and discern what action you can learn more about and respond to.  
• Follow Reconciliation Thunder's #94in94 campaign which is highlighting one Call per day toward September 30, the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.  
• Donate to one of the many groups that are supporting the ongoing work of survivors in their quest for justice. 

Want to learn more? Want to act? But don't know where to start? Here are some resources that might be helpful: