Mante Molepo is grateful for the opportunity to call Ottawa home. As a stateless child, Canada became the first country to provide her family with a safe place to live, grow and achieve opportunities. Mante acknowledges the complexity of Canada being a refuge to many displaced Indigenous Peoples of the global majority, while also denying rights to First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of this land.
We acknowledge the history and legacy of colonialism and the intergenerational trauma that continues to impact First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples. We also acknowledge the traditional knowledge and world views of Indigenous Peoples that must inform and challenge dominant ways of thinking and being.
We acknowledge Indigenous Peoples’ inherent rights to self-determination as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.