L’Équipe psycho-sociale de SDG gratefully acknowledges the opportunity to operate on the unceded ancestral lands of the Mohawk peoples of Akwesasne, and the presence of their ancestors who have inhabited these territories for generations. We also wish to acknowledge the Algonquin, Haudenosaunee (Ho-den-o-show-nee), Huron-Wendat (Huron-wen-dat) and Abenaki peoples.
We are deeply grateful to those who inhabited these lands before the creation of the Canadian nation. We recognize the intergenerational trauma and mental health challenges caused by colonization, and the injustices and oppression suffered by Indigenous peoples since its inception.
We are committed to better serving the region's First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, promoting reconciliation and healing. In doing so, we recognize that traditional holistic approaches to Indigenous health and wellness have been in place for thousands of years and continue today. Indigenous family models, based on respect, reciprocity and collective responsibility, also offer us valuable lessons in social cohesion and intergenerational support. They are a source of inspiration for us.
We also stand in solidarity with the missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirited and transgendered people and their families.
Finally, we honor the memory of Indigenous children who lost their lives or were mistreated and abused in residential schools, recognizing the intergenerational trauma caused by these institutions. “Every child matters”.
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