Like many organizations since the 2015 release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, the Royal Philatelic Society of Canada (RPSC) has approved a land acknowledgement statement.
Recognizing the country’s Indigenous land claims, the RPSC will open every society-hosted event with the following statement, which will also be “prominently displayed on its Facebook page and website, rpsc.org.
“The Royal Philatelic Society of Canada acknowledges that our National Office stands on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. Furthermore, we acknowledge that Canada is an indigenous nation, meaning that Indigenous people and nations did not give up the lands that they had been on for thousands of years. We also acknowledge that Europeans did not ‘discover’ Canada or arrive on an uninhabited land. The RPSC acknowledges that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands. Established in 1787, Treaty 13 involved the surrender of the lands from the Mississaugas of the Credit to the British Crown. The RPSC pledges to promote knowledge of Indigenous Canadians and their culture through philately.”