It’s more than just a written or spoken acknowledgement.
It’s an honour, a priveledge, a responsibility and an opportunity. 

In the spirit of gratitude and respect, we acknowledge and honour the ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the Xwsepsum (Esquimalt), Lekwungen (Songhees), Sc’ianew (Beecher Bay), and the W̱SÁNEĆ Peoples represented by the Tsartlip, Pauquachin, Tsawout, Tseycum, and Malahat Nations.

We are profoundly grateful for the privilege of living, working, and gathering on these sacred lands, characterized by its profound beauty and the cultural richness of the Indigenous Peoples who have been stewards of these territories for countless generations.

We pay our deepest respects to the wisdom and resilience of the elders, past, present, and future. Their spiritual relationship with the land, their enduring traditions and stories, carry lessons for us all – to live in harmony with the natural world, and with one another.

We thank them for their enduring patience and grace, for sharing this beautiful land, and for the opportunity to learn from their teachings. We pledge to walk gently and respectfully on these lands, to honour the treaties, and to cultivate a spirit of reconciliation and coexistence.

Let us all remember, each day, that we inhabit these ancestral territories, and let that memory guide our actions, our relationships, and our journey towards a just and inclusive society.

In gratitude, humility, and with a deep sense of responsibility, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the Coast Salish Peoples, for their generosity, their wisdom, and their ongoing guardianship of these sacred territories.