But another councillor tabled an amendment to the land acknowledgment motion, essentially scrapping it and replacing it with a proposal to offer training on Indigenous issues to city staff. David West, who tabled the original land acknowledgment motion, said Wednesday that the vote represented a shameful moment for the town. West praised DiPaola’s proposal, but objected to it standing as a substitute for a land acknowledgment. The Nishnawbe Aski Nation, a collection of Indigenous communities in northwestern Ontario, previously spoke out about the importance of land acknowledgment. “The widely adopted practice recognizes our territories and the inherent and Treaty rights of Indigenous Peoples,” Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler wrote to the association at the time.

Source: National Post March 28, 2019 04:18 UTC