The lands on which our studio home is situated are covered under the Williams Treaties and the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands are home to a number of Indigenous nations, people and fellow artists who have cared for Turtle Island (also called North America) from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day.

As an organization founded by people of predominantly white settler origin, it’s important that we recognise that the history of these lands has been corrupted by unjust processes of colonization and white supremacy. We commit to unsettling these practices within ourselves and our community whenever possible in order to create opportunities for creative dialogue, growth, healing and reconciliation. We humbly invite you to do the same.

There will always be more to learn and ways we can anticipate the community's needs, and grow forward. We can’t say that we won’t make mistakes along the way, however we will endeavour to reflect and learn from those moments, and work to do better moving forward.

You may be on a similar journey - if so, here are some resources that we’ve found helpful in learning, growing and creating more meaningful and lasting change within ourselves and our community. There are many amazing resources out there - if you have others you’d like to add please share them with us at info@livingroomcommunityartstudio.org

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Online Resources

Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation

National Centre for Truth and Reconcilliation

Truth and Reconcilliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action

Indian Residential School Survivors Society

Whose Land - Territories by Land

Video Series - Durham Indigenous Voices: Reconcilliation with Nicole Blackman

Native Land Digital

Decolonize Myself - Instagram

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Books and Articles

Unsettling The Settler Within by Paulette Regan

21 Things You May Not Know About The Indian Act by Bob Joseph