The Region of Peel’s diversity, equity and anti-racism committee will vote Thursday on whether or not all their public proceedings should open with a formal, Indigenous land acknowledgment.

The proposed land acknowledgment was developed in consultation with local resources from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, the Ministry of Education — Indigenous Education office, Ontario Federation of Labour, Peel Aboriginal Network and University of Toronto.

A land acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes and respects the legal and spiritual relationship between Indigenous peoples and their traditional territories. Acknowledging the land is an Indigenous protocol that has been practised for thousands of years.

The 94 recommended calls to action contained in the 2015 National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation report request that all levels of government play a role in educating on the history of Indigenous peoples and provide anti-racism training to reduce inequities experienced by Indigenous peoples.

“The Region of Peel has an opportunity to work toward reconciliation through educating employees about oppression, privilege and colonization,” reads an Oct. 29 report by Catherine Matheson, Peel’s commissioner of human services. “Embedding the practice of acknowledging the original inhabitants of the land is only one step in responding to this call to action.”

Peel is part of the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit. In particular, the region would acknowledge the territory of the Anishinabek, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Ojibway/Chippewa peoples; and of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.

An update regarding Peel’s further efforts to deliver on the region’s commitment to truth and reconciliation will be brought forward in 2020.