THE YW KITCHENER-WATERLOO ACKNOWLEDGES THAT THE LAND ON WHICH WE LIVE AND WORK TODAY IS OF THE HALDIMAND TRACT WITHIN THE TERRITORY OF THE NEUTRAL, ANISHINAABE AND HAUDENOSAUNEE PEOPLE. WE ARE THANKFUL TO THE FIRST NATIONS, MÉTIS AND INUIT PEOPLE WHO CARE FOR THESE TERRITORIES AND THOSE ACROSS THE PROVINCE. 

In this territory, Indigenous peoples continue to endure inequality, violence, and oppression due to colonialism. This is magnified by the historical and ongoing widespread failure by settlers and institutions to uphold their responsibilities within the Dish with One Spoon Covenant. To fulfill our vision of an inclusive and equitable world where women are empowered to choose change, we must stand in allyship with Indigenous peoples. 

To us, allyship is a continuous process; it is not a designation that one can earn and hold forever, or a label one can give themselves. Allyship is earned through actions. As beneficiaries of this land, we have a responsibility to acknowledge and understand its history and the current experiences of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and to be accountable to the oppression they continue to face. 

We commit in our work and our community to hold ourselves accountable in the continuous work of decolonizing, to ensure that we do not perpetuate the harms of colonization and to begin to repair them.