PODER is honoured to cultivate these spaces in the meeting place of Toronto (from the Mohawk word “Tkaronto,” meaning “the place in the water where the trees are standing”). It is the traditional territory of many First Peoples, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples.

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The territory is subject to the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, Tkaronto is still the home to many Indigenous people across Turtle Island. We are grateful to have the opportunity to build community in solidarity with Indigenous nations on this territory.

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We remember those who came here involuntarily, particularly those brought to these lands due to the trans-Atlantic slave trade and slavery. This city was built on stolen land and stolen labour of Black, Indigenous, and racialized people.