The organizers of StrongHold acknowledge that we live and nourish the conditions of our lives on the traditional territories of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot) and the people of the Treaty 7 region in Southern Alberta, which includes the Siksika, the Piikuni, the Kainai, the Tsuut’ina and the Îyârhe Nakoda (Stoney Nakoda First Nations, including Chiniki, Bearpaw, and Wesley First Nations) as well as the Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III, along with many others. This land, where the Bow and Elbow rivers meet, traditionally called Winchispa by the Îyârhe Nakoda and Mohkinstsis by the Niitsitapi people, is presently called The City of Calgary by many, and is also home to Métis Nation of Alberta, Region III.

We are committed to principles and practices of decolonization, including settler responsibility for honouring the treaties and rematriating this land to Indigenous trust before the work of collaboration can be undertaken in good faith. We would like to be held accountable for the ways I perpetuate legacies of harm as an uninvited inhabitant of this land. We support the restoration and protection of Indigenous people’s land and resource rights for the benefit of all.

There is no prosperity without flourishing Indigenous communities.

There is no freedom without Indigenous liberation.

It is very difficult and deeply problematic to acknowledge the land we are on and the history it holds in a static format. A fresh and specific acknowledgement is written by a different participant for each of our events and meetings.

Please read our Settler Responsibility Statement for more information on our commitment to Indigenous liberation.