Land Acknowledgment

Because food would not exist without land and because we live and work in this region, as members of the Kent County Food Policy Council we will take this time to honor the original caretakers of this land. It is important for each of us to acknowledge, understand and seek to repair the harm that has brought us to this moment as both colonizers/settlers and Indigenous people.

We honor and acknowledge that Kent County occupies the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary Lands of the Anishinaabeg -- Three Fires Confederacy of Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples. The Treaty of Chicago in 1821 and the Treaty of Washington in 1836 along with the Indian Removal Act in 1830 forced many Indigenous people from their homelands. Many Indigenous people were killed through the enforcement of these acts.

We acknowledge the truth that Indigenous people have demonstrated resilience and resistance in the efforts to separate them from their land and ways of life.

Through this acknowledgement, we commit to examining what action needs to be taken to reverse the long-standing practices to erase Indigenous people’s history, language, culture, and existence. We commit to appreciating and celebrating Indigenous ways of life, especially relating to food. By making these commitments and acting upon them, we work towards a future of right-relationship.