Amanda Carling, Manager, Indigenous Initiatives, and artist Jay Redbird with the painting A Meeting Place for All Our Relations
In 2017, the Indigenous Law Students’ Association (ILSA), with the support of the Faculty of Law, conceived of an artistic and physical representation – to be displayed in the Jackman Law Building – of Indigenous history, presence, and ways of life in the territory on which Toronto is built. The painting was unveiled at a ceremony in the Jackman Law Building on June 29, 2017.
Through this project, ILSA seeks to acknowledge and honour the land and territory on which the University of Toronto operates. This land has been a site of human activity since time immemorial. This land has been the home and traditional territory of many Indigenous nations, including the Huron-Wendat, Petun, Seneca, Haudenosaunee and, most recently, the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. Additionally, relationships on this territory have been, and continue to be, guided and governed by numerous treaties and covenants, including those symbolized in the Dish with One Spoon and Two Row wampum belts. For the ILSA, this painting symbolizes this history and our commitment to maintaining and expanding our healthy relationships with the peoples and knowledges of this territory in the spirit of sharing and friendship.
Watch the unveiling ceremony:
;
The ILSA would like to express thanks to Jay Bell Redbird, member of the Wikwemikong First Nation, for his artistic vision, dedication, and skill in bringing this representation to life.
2016-17 Members of the Indigenous Law Students' Association (L-R) Douglas Varrette, Natalie Day, Joshua Favel and Zachary Biech stand with Artist Jay Bell Redbird and his new painting A Meeting Place for All Our Relations
