Land Acknowledgement

Land Acknowledgement of the Manitoba Law Foundation

The Manitoba Law Foundation acknowledges that the lands we call Manitoba are the ancestral lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anishininiwak, Denesuline, and Dakota Oyate.

Between 1871 and 1907, Treaty Commissioners acting on behalf of the Crown, made Treaties No. 1 through 6 and Treaty 10 with leaders of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anishininiwak, and Denesuline respecting the use of these lands.

While the work of the Foundation extends throughout Manitoba, the Foundation office is located in Treaty 1 Territory, the birthplace and homeland of the Red River Métis. It is with gratitude that we also acknowledge Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s water.

Today, sixty-four First Nation communities, who hold spiritual and cultural ties to the land, live in Manitoba. We acknowledge with respect and gratitude the many First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples whose footsteps have marked this land for centuries.

Manitoba is a legally pluralistic province in which the Crown’s common law legal order and Indigenous legal orders co-exist. We are called to be mindful and intentional of the role the Foundation plays in these systems and in the inter-relationship of these systems.

We dedicate ourselves to work with First Nation, Inuit, and Métis communities in a spirit of reconciliation to advance access to justice in a manner that reflects and includes their values and legal orders, as well as the responsibilities and obligations created by Treaties 1 through 6 and 10.