LAND

UNION GALLERY is situated on the ancestral territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek, who have lived in kinship with this land, water and air for thousands of years. Ne Union Gallery e’tho nońwe nikanónhsote tsi nońwe ne Haudenasaunee tánon Anishinaabek tehatihsnónhsahere ne óhontsa. Gimaakwe Gchi-gkinoomaagegamig atemagad Naadowe miinwaa Anishinaabe aking.

It is our understanding that this territory is included in the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and the Confederacy of the Ojibwe and Allied Nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, this meeting place is still home to many Indigenous peoples from across Turtle Island and beyond. To acknowledge territory is to recognize its longer history, one predating the establishment of the earliest European colonies. To acknowledge territory is to recognize and respect the leadership of the land's original inhabitants. We recognize Union Gallery's own complicity in settler colonialism, its present occupation and violent legacy. We acknowledge our collective responsibility to work actively in support of Indigenous sovereignty, and towards a respectful relationship with this place. We are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land with respect and care.