To our Black Kin,
As we find ourselves in our winter ceremonies, the Indigenous Employees Network at MakeWay is deep in the medicine of reflection of our shared stories that bind us. And in the spirit of Black History Month and beyond, in what has been very briefly known as North America, we wanted to share a message of love and gratitude for the bond we have built in our ongoing pursuit for liberation, belonging, and peace.
So today, we to take a moment to pause, reflect, and say limtlemt (a high thank you,) for all you’ve contributed to these lands.
Our stories, like rivers that have roared side by side, sometimes converging in moments of solidarity, at other times diverging in the face of our own unique journeys. Yet, in each ebb and flow, our common fibres have bound together and woven a story of resistance, strength, and hope. From the first steps on our homelands, to the shores where stories of diaspora began, we continue to be on a collective journey towards liberation.
Our struggles, though different in their nuances, have been fueled by the same fire—the fire of our relentless pursuit of freedom, identity, community— belonging.
As Indigenous kin, we extend our deepest gratitude to the Black community that continues to stand alongside us in the face of adversity, and to those who have stood in front us shielding us with your voices when our own were stifled or silenced, we have the deepest love and respect for all of you who have put your lives on the line to carve pathways to justice for all.
In our story you are written into the hearts of our people refusing to fade, preserving our collective truth.
As your Indigenous kin, we honour the way your feet walk on our homelands, we look to you with a collective sense of love and belonging, and we move ahead hand in hand towards a future of liberation.
In solidarity and love,
Indigenous Employees Network – MakeWay
