Richmond Hill Council adopts new land acknowledgment, confirms commitment to inclusion

City also develops Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy Action Plan

Yorkregion.com
April 5, 2023
Melissa Wallace

Beginning this month, a land acknowledgment adopted by the City of Richmond Hill at their March 29 council meeting will be shared at city events and meetings.

The city developed the land acknowledgment in consultation with First Nations and Indigenous communities. The statement reads:

“We are gathering on lands that have been home to First Nations Peoples from time immemorial. We acknowledge that what we now call Richmond Hill is on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and the Mississauga and Chippewa Nations of the Williams Treaty. We also recognize that we are on part of the traditional territories of the Haudenosaunee and the Huron Wendat.

We would also like to acknowledge all First Nation, Inuit and Métis peoples from across North America, also known as Turtle Island, who now reside in the City of Richmond Hill. We are committed to rebuilding constructive and cooperative relationships.”

Members of the community who are hosting a meeting or event in Richmond Hill are welcome to use the city’s land acknowledgment.

Richmond Hill council also adopted its first Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Strategy and Action Plan as part of an ongoing pledge to expand diversity, inclusion and equity efforts.

“Richmond Hill has such potential to leverage our great diversity and become even more welcoming and inclusive than it is now,” Mayor David West said in a statement. “With both the Land Acknowledgment and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy, we are moving in the right direction toward a community that fully embraces these principles.

“I want everyone in Richmond Hill to feel like they are included and that they are an important part of what makes our city great.”