Many of us have been ripped from our native lands only to be thrown onto stolen land. How we navigate our sense of homelessness within community is our medicine.

As a settler of colour and a citizen of what is currently known as Canada, I am a treaty person. I inherit the responsibility to honor treaties that persist today but continue to be violated. It is my responsibility to actively engage in meaningful processes of truth and reconciliation with the First Peoples of this land. I currently reside in the place the Kanien’keha:ka call Tiohtià:ke and the Anishinaabe call Mooniyang. Settlers recognize this place by its colonized name, Montréal. I also reflect upon my identity as a member of the Persian diaspora; imperialism and colonialism are at the root of my own family fleeing our homeland and becoming settlers here on this land.

My commitment is to stand in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples and their rights to safety and self-determination. In honor of this commitment, I offer acknowledgement of the Indigenous nations and territories represented in my stories. 

As I acknowledge my connection to the Earth, and the lands I inhabit and write about, I’m mindful that such land acknowledgements are often made in place of actual remediation of harms inflicted upon Indigenous peoples. These harms include but are not limited to genocide, ethnic cleansing, and land theft in the pursuit of colonialism and extractive capitalism. I will continue to learn about this land and its history. It is our collective responsibility to decolonize ourselves and our institutions, and to care for the land for the future generations.

To learn more, visit: Whose.Land and Native-Land.ca

Peace without justice is no peace at all.
Peace without liberation is no peace at all.