Land Acknowledgement

We begin with an acknowledgement that UBC Vancouver is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples including the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. We use the word “traditional” to recognize how land is traditionally occupied by Indigenous peoples; “ancestral” to reflect how land is passed through generations; and “unceded” to recognize that the land was never surrendered to the Canadian government or to previous colonial governments.

The violent processes of settler colonialism continue to permeate our society. As many guests on this land, we strive to affirm and follow the leadership of Indigenous people who have been stewards and knowledge keepers of these territories from time immemorial. We also uphold the continuous work towards reconciliation by strengthening, maintaining, and building relations of reciprocity and respect with Indigenous peoples and with the land and environment that sustains us all.

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When we are speaking about health it is important to acknowledge settler colonialism as one of the root causes of barriers to health in marginalized communities. Throughout Canadian colonial history, Indigenous health had been inferiorized through methods of genocide and conquest. We can witness this in the stories shared by survivors of residential “schools”. Working towards better and equalized health we must extend our advocacy around the rights of individuals to better health to include the rights of indigenous nations to self-determination. This is why we must recognize and continue to follow the lead of Indigenous peoples who have been at the forefront of pushing for a more just world and healthy planet for us all.