09/29/2026
The Ancestral Foodways Collective Society (AFW) will gather at the garden to reflect, remember, and honour the children, families, and communities harmed by colonization and the residential school system.
From noon to 2:00 p.m., we will harvest to***co and medicines at the Kumkumaly Biocultural Heritage Corridor, giving thanks to the land and preparing to visit the fires of friends and partners in our community.
Statement
Truth and reconciliation are not limited to a single day; they are a way of life, guided by the laws of Mother Earth.
Reconciliation is ongoing action: listening, learning, respecting Indigenous sovereignty, and supporting healing, justice, and Indigenous-led knowledge.
We encourage our team members, volunteers, and partners to seek truth in the Truth and Reconciliation process and to honour the children, families, and communities harmed by colonization and the residential school system.
Reconciliation requires action, daily accountability, humility, justice, and respect for Indigenous voices, experiences, sovereignty, and self-determination. At every AFW activity, we strive to embody these commitments through learning, listening, acknowledging harm, and working to remove systemic barriers and racism.
We hold deep gratitude for the Indigenous Peoples of the lands now called Canada, and for the lands and waters they have stewarded since time immemorial. Many of us are also guided by our ancestors, who cared for lands across the world and throughout the southern part of this continent. We honour all ancestors through planting and restoring the Kumkumaly Biocultural Heritage Corridor, nurturing the land, collective memory, Coast Salish values, and culture. This work is an act of giving thanks and a tangible practice of reconciliation.
AFW stands with the Truth and Reconciliation movement and the Orange Shirt movement. We recognize that reconciliation is ongoing: it means supporting Indigenous-led education and cultural programs, consulting communities on decisions that affect their lands and governance, prioritizing Indigenous leadership, creating spaces for healing and knowledge-sharing, and actively challenging racism and colonial systems.
Anyone who claims that genocide is not real should examine their privilege and listen to the stories and experiences of the Indigenous Peoples of these lands and waters since the arrival of settlers and colonial cultures. People continue to experience genocide in Gaza, Congo, Venezuela, and wherever people seek to take the resources of others through greed and violence.
We encourage everyone to listen to the lived experiences of Indigenous Peoples and to recognize the ongoing impacts of colonization, displacement, and violence. Healing begins with truth, respect, accountability, and collective action.
Ancestral Foodways Collective Society
