Toronto Territorial Acknowledgment
Today’s institutions and organizations have the trend of giving formal recognition to the indigenous occupants of the nation. By taking place in inland acknowledgment, we tend to honor the enduring relationship of our land. This normally assists greatly in building a strong bond between the indigenous people and the surrounding resources and environment. It also raises awareness about the histories and cultures of different nations and the historical presence is well known to the world. It is generally a way of showing respect to the indigenous occupants of the nation. By doing so, people are always reminded about the histories of different states.
Therefore, I wish to acknowledge my land, Toronto, the capital city of the province of Ontario, Southern Canada. It happens to be part of the border between Canada and the United States and on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario (Little, 2021). Traditionally numerous territories such as the Haudenosaunee, the Chippewas, Mississauga’s of the credit, and the Wendat people rested in the heart of Toronto.
English is the most spoken language in the city of Toronto. Most people learn English as their primary language; it is their non-official language, or rather mother tongue used widely in Toronto. They have manufacturing companies, industrial centers, and transportation as their main economic activities. The city has mainly invested in the three largest industries: financial services, real estate, and wholesale and retail markets. It has gone through different economic stages in a commercial like port, railway, and information centers. Toronto is situated at a central position hence promoting international trade. This ensures an increase in revenue and cash flow, enhancing competitiveness, which is critical to the prosperity of any nation. Therefore, international trade has provided Toronto with the commodities it lacks.
Toronto’s continental climate is modified considerably by the proximity of the great lakes. The climate is favorable for growing a wide range of crops such as corn, wheat, soybeans, and barley. This promotes farming and helps greatly in raising income from the agricultural sector, mainly used for export. Agriculture is well known for sustaining citizens in almost all parts of the world and has widely transformed human life. It has formed the basis for Toronto’s food supply and the whole world.
The city of Toronto was colonized by European in the 1660s. Before colonization, the indigenous people had lived on the land for so many years, where they had their cultures, traditions, and languages. Their livelihoods were disrupted by the non-indigenous people who came to their land to colonize them (Wolfstone, 2018). Colonization later led to early partnerships between indigenous nations and the colonial government in the form of treaties, trade alliances, as well as military alliances. A treaty is an agreement between two parties that draws the line between the two groups that define ongoing rights and obligations on all sides. The treaties that were signed since then have helped the people of Toronto through the journey of reconciliation and healing the scars that were left during colonialism (Asher et al., 2018). They have been active in promoting peace all through the years, and mutual respect between the indigenous people and non-indigenous people has as well been observed.
The present city of Toronto was first inhabited by several first nation people before the immigrants from across Europe. The settlement came after the Iroquois secured the region; they established several settlements on the north shore of Lake Ontario. They came in as missionaries who established religious places and schools in the region. Some indigenous communities also settled in the United States during World War II.
During the earliest times, before the arrival of colonists, indigenous women in Toronto played a crucial role in the domestic sphere. Women are perceived to be strong and, in most cases, they can handle issues in a good way. They were life-givers and played a role in the early socialization of their children (Asher et al., 2018). The strong people in the society of Toronto are as a result of the strong children that were raised and supported by the aboriginal women. The aboriginal women acted as pillars in the family set up during the colonial times, giving them hope and encouragement. They ensured the families got assistance in terms of mental, emotional, and sometimes physical help. Women also invested in their futures, their economic independence was built through training and education and sometimes offering, jobs and business opportunities were offered as well.
The aboriginal women had cultural practices like healing ceremonies and dances. They could also tell stories and pass on social traditions to the next generations. They also looked after the children, cooked, and ensured their men were well taken care of (Gleason, 2019). Aboriginal women played a crucial role in economic activities as farmers and traders. According to Bullock et al. (2020), homelessness among the citizens was never an issue because the indigenous women built homes for each other. The women of the first nation groups that occupied the Toronto territory in the past have later continued to delegate responsibilities to the women of the modern nation.
References
Asher, L., Curnow, J., & Davis, A. (2018). The limits of settlers’ territorial acknowledgments. Curriculum Inquiry, 48(3), 316-334. Web.
Bullock, H. E., Reppond, H. A., Truong, S. V., & Singh, M. R. (2020). An intersectional analysis of the feminization of homelessness and mothers’ housing precarity. Journal of Social Issues, 76(4), 835-858.
Gleason, M. (2019). Normalizing the Ideal. In Normalizing the Ideal. University of Toronto Press.
Little, K. (2021). Entangled territorialities: Negotiating indigenous lands in Australia and Canada. (Dussart F., & Poirier S., Ed.) Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2017, pp 269. Web.
Wolfstone, I. F. (2018). Remembering Matricultures: Historiography of subjugated knowledge. Web.