The University of Manitoba campuses are located on the original lands of the Anishinaabeg, Ininiwak, Anisininewuk, Dakota Oyate, Dene, and Inuit, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We are governed by the promises – most of them unfulfilled – of Treaty 1 and the Manitoba Act. We recognize that we have benefited from, and continue to benefit from colonization, specifically of Treaty 1 lands, but also Treaty 2, 3, 4 and 5 Territories.

We acknowledge that Winnipeg’s drinking water comes from Shoal Lake, waters that have been stewarded by the four First Nations at Shoal Lake. Sourcing Winnipeg’s water from Shoal Lake led to to Shoal Lake 40 First Nation lacking access to clean drinking water for more than two decades. You can learn more about the development of Winnipeg’s municipal water supply as an example of the history of settler colonialism in Dr. Adele Perry’s book Aqueduct: Colonialism, Resources, and the Histories we Remember. We also acknowledge that our access to electricity comes from the north, particularly Treaty 5 territory but also Treaty 1, 2, 3 and 4. This access to hydroelectricity often results in the displacement of Indigenous peoples and their communities, including flooding, shoreline erosion, changes to water quality, disruption to fishing and hunting, and the destruction of habitat. 

The CHRR recognizes the ongoing role of settler colonialism the ways in which other systems of oppression intersect with colonialism to deny the rights of Indigenous peoples and communities. We recognize the resistance of Indigenous peoples to that oppression and use an intersectional lens to research and advocate for Indigenous sovereignty and resurgences.