City To Begin Council Meetings With Land Acknowledgment

Saint John’s newly-elected council will begin its meetings with the reading of an Indigenous land acknowledgment.

The announcement comes as the country mourns the 215 children who were found in a mass grave at the site of a former residential school in British Columbia.

“Canada has entered a period of reconciliation and the City of Saint John, as with all communities, has an important role to play,” the city said in a news release Tuesday.

City staff say they have been working to find a way to recognize Indigenous peoples during council meetings following a request by the previous council in March.

“The most important component of this process is the stakeholder consultations with members of Indigenous communities,” said the city.

Former lieutenant-governor Graydon Nicholas offered to draft a land acknowledgment that recognizes the traditional territory that Saint John is on.

Nicholas will join council on June 14 to do the very first reading of the land acknowledgment. The reading will be accompanied by a smudging and the singing of the Honor Song by Mykayla Spinney.

A national Indian Residential School Crisis Line has been set up to provide support for former residential school students. The toll-free line can be accessed 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 1-866-925-4419.