“Action on behalf of life transforms. Because the relationship between self and the world is reciprocal, it is not a question of first getting enlightened or saved and then acting. As we work to heal the earth, the earth heals us.”
― Braiding Sweetgrass
As a Muslim-Canadian Therapist located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I would like to acknowledge this land on which I am privileged to carry out my work at Muslimah Therapy. Toronto is a word that originates from the Mohawk word T’karonto, which means “the place in the water where the trees are standing.” It is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island. Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit; this territory is covered by the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Anishinabeg and Haudenosaunee allied nations to share peaceably and care for the lands around the Great Lakes. Many of us have come here as settlers, immigrants, or newcomers in this generation or generations past, and we have all been invited to collectively care for the land and share its gifts in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect. I am humbled and grateful to have the opportunity to live, work, play, create, and learn on this land.
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