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Lheidli T’enneh First Nation accepts pledge from Prince George Public Library to acknowledge unceded ancestral lands

Lheidli T’enneh First Nation Councillor Joshua Seymour, Chief Dolleen Logan, Councillor Crystal Gibbs, Prince George Public Library Chair Anna Duff, Library Director Paul Burry, Manager Jen Rubadeau, and Lheidli T’enneh Youth Program Lead John West.

Lheidli T’enneh First Nation (LTFN) Chief Dolleen Logan has accepted a pledge from the Prince George Public Library (PGPL) of ‘Respectful Acknowledgement’ of Lheidli T’enneh Unceded Ancestral Lands.

Logan thanked the library and presented PGPL Chair, Anna Duff, and Library Director, Paul Burry, with two plaques that recognize the pledge. One will be displayed in the Bob Harkins Branch and the other in the Nechako Branch.

“The Prince George Public Library’s pledge to respectfully acknowledge our unceded ancestral lands celebrates a positive relationship,” said Logan. “More importantly the pledge is another positive step forward on the road to reconciliation. We are the rights and title holders of our unceded ancestral lands, and we thank the Prince George Public Library for respectfully acknowledging this.”

The plaque reads: ‘We respectfully acknowledge the unceded ancestral lands of the Lheidli T’enneh, on whose land we live, work and play.’

“PGPL is committed to reconciliation and to fostering positive and lasting relationships with the Lheidli T’enneh First Nation and all Indigenous peoples of Canada,” said Duff. “We believe the library has an important role to foster a vibrant community where all people can come together in a safe space to read, connect, and share. As stated in the Truth & Reconciliation Calls to Action, ‘reconciliation is a process of healing relationships that require public truth sharing, apology, and commemoration that acknowledge and redress past harms.’ We believe that public spaces like the library can provide opportunities for healing and sharing to occur if they are designed to be as welcoming and inclusive as possible to everyone in our community. The library is in an ideal and unique position to support reconciliation by providing the physical spaces, access to resources, and staff that support and foster meaningful community engagement, truth telling, and healing.”\

“We are committed to acknowledging the traditional stewards of these lands, the Lheidli T’enneh people, through the display of these plaques at both branches, with land acknowledgements at the beginning of our events and programs, and in our emails and other communications,” said Burry. “PGPL’s mission statement conveys our commitment to creating welcoming and inclusive spaces for every person to read, connect, and share. The 94 Calls to Action also stress the importance of educating ourselves and seeking to understand the history of Indigenous People in Canada. Public libraries have a key role to play in advancing that goal. Promoting the stories of our Indigenous community members found in the books on our shelves, including at the Jeanne Clarke Local History Awards later this month, is one way to advance that goal.”

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