As a placemaking organization, our goal is to engage communities across Nova Scotia to be more vibrant and active. We take great pride in the work we do to build connected communities.
While celebrating this work we feel that it is important to properly recognize the land on which our murals, art installations and other projects sit. Our projects are on the unceded, ancestral territory of the Mi’kmaq people. We must recognize that the Mi’kmaq people have been continuously oppressed on land that was taken from them. It is important that we, as settlers, acknowledge that we are here on their stolen land and that as a placemaking organization, we build our projects on stolen land.
We try to instill in ourselves that a land acknowledgement is not simply words, but an opportunity for us to take some time to reflect on our past, and the past of the Mi’Kmaq communities here in Nova Scotia. How has the history of this land evolved over hundreds of years? How are we benefiting from this land? How much have others lost over this land? By reflecting on what we have learned in colonial history, and acknowledging what we need to un-learn and re-learn, we dig deep into our personal bias to ensure that we actively work against ongoing discrimination. Introspection is not an easy task, but it is one that is necessary if we are to start correcting the wrongdoings from our past. It is important to inform ourselves on the injustices in the communities where we live and work, so that we may create projects which reflect these histories in a way that benefits the communities by advocating for meaningful and conscious change.
Our goal is not simply to do land acknowledgements just to check off a box on a diversity checklist. We want our organization to be more equitable, by exploring new meaningful partnerships, and by taking the proper time for self-reflection on history and ongoing oppression, and the implications of our work. While we take this small step towards acknowledging the land on which our projects are placed, we will continue to work towards being more equitable in all other areas of our organization as well. For more information on this work, visit our equity statement here.