***this acknowledgement was written with our children in mind,
and we encourage you to share it and the definitions in the margin with them!

We acknowledge the land where we live, work, play and practice yoga is built on the Ancestral Traditional Territories of many nations, including the Petun (pee-tun), Haudenosaunee (HOE-dee-no-SHOW-nee), Anishinaabe (ah-NISH-nah-bay), Mississauga (MISS-iss-aw-gah), and Wendat (WHEN-dah) peoples. We also recognize the continuing presence of all First Nations, Métis (may-TEE) and Inuit (IN-oo-et) on this land.*

The Appleseed community falls within the territory of the Dish with One Spoon covenant: an agreement between the Indigenous peoples of the Great Lakes region and northeastern North America to share and respect this land. Though this agreement was made hundreds of years ago, we are all invited to join in the spirit of friendship, peace, and respect. The Dish represents the land, resources, and all the many living things living there. The Spoon represents people peacefully working together to keep the land full of resources, by being respectful and only taking what we need, and taking care of the land, the many living things we share it with, and one another.*

We acknowledge the yoga practices we teach and share are learned and borrowed from India and Southeast Asia. We are very grateful to have the privilege to share them, and have so much respect for not only our teachers, but their teachers, and their teachers before them too.**

We acknowledge part of the history of yoga includes white colonizers from Britain who oppressed the peoples of India, and there is still so much work to be done in making yoga an inclusive practice for all. We are committed to embracing diversity, and teaching and sharing our yoga practice with all, in an effort to create a more inclusive future for yoga. We promise to teach without any judgement of the abilities or identities of our students, and invite our community to share in this learning as well.**

We acknowledge racism and using cultural practices without consent is still a very big problem in today’s society, and are wholeheartedly committed to using our privilege to address these issues and celebrate all peoples of colour, the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and people with different abilities. We want to see yoga and mindfulness as practices all people have access to, and offer scholarships to those in need.**

We are committed to acknowledging the learning and unlearning that will happen as we work to build a more sustainable, inclusive, and just future together. We appreciate your insights and experiences as we navigate this journey, and we invite our community to share, learn, and grow together.

With love,
The Appleseed Yoga Team

*words in these paragraphs are inspired by and adapted from Jessica Wong & Matthew Villagonzalo’s original text in the DAS Land Acknowledgement with permission
**words in these paragraphs are inspired by and adapted from Taryn Diamond’s original text at taryndiamond.com with permission

What’s that word?

acknowledge:
to admit the truth or existence of

privilege:
a right or benefit is given only to a certain person, group, or social class

colonizer:
people who created a settlement on an often faraway land in order to rule the land and the people on it

oppress:
to treat in a way that is cruel or not fair

inclusive:
having a goal to include as many different types of people as possible

diversity:
the collection of people’s differences which may include race or ethnicity, age, disabilities, language, culture, appearance, or religion

2SLGBTQ+:
an acronym used to refer to people, as a group, who identify as Two Spirit, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Pansexual, Trans, Gender Independent, Queer and Questioning

sustainable:
capable of continuing or being kept up over time

just (justice):
fair treatment everyone deserves