{"id":106071,"date":"2026-06-22T14:33:21","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:33:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?p=106071"},"modified":"2026-06-22T14:33:21","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T18:33:21","slug":"beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Kezia Royer-Burkett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and M\u00e9tis Peoples. It is also an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the relationships Indigenous communities continue to have with the lands they have stewarded for generations. Over the past several years, land acknowledgement statements have become a familiar part of life across Canada. They are spoken before public events, printed in programs, and displayed on municipal websites, including here in Burlington. Many residents have heard the words, but fewer understand what they truly mean for Indigenous communities living and working throughout the Halton Region today. On the City of Burlington website, the city acknowledges that Burlington… <\/p>\n

\n
\n
This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription – Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>\n
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Kezia Royer-Burkett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and M\u00e9tis Peoples. It is also an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the relationships Indigenous communities continue to have with the lands they have stewarded for generations. Over the past several years, land acknowledgement statements have become a familiar part of life across Canada. They are spoken before public events, printed in programs, and displayed on municipal websites, including here in Burlington. Many residents have heard the words, but fewer understand what they truly mean for Indigenous communities living and working throughout the Halton Region today. On the City of Burlington website, the city acknowledges that Burlington... <\/p>\n

This content is for Yearly Subscription, Yearly Subscription - Corporate, Print Subscription Only, Canada Print and Online, and USA Print and Online members only.
Register<\/a><\/div>
Already a member? Log in here<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"author":101363,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-106071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-national-news","category-ticker","pmpro-level-required","pmpro-level-3","pmpro-level-2","pmpro-level-5","pmpro-level-4","pmpro-level-6","pmpro-level-7","pmpro-level-8","pmpro-no-access"],"yoast_head":"\nBeyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Kezia Royer-Burkett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and M\u00e9tis Peoples. It is also an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the relationships Indigenous communities continue to have with the lands they have stewarded for generations. Over the past several years, land acknowledgement statements have become a familiar part of life across Canada. They are spoken before public events, printed in programs, and displayed on municipal websites, including here in Burlington. Many residents have heard the words, but fewer understand what they truly mean for Indigenous communities living and working throughout the Halton Region today. On the City of Burlington website, the city acknowledges that Burlington\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Turtle Island News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"725\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"483\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@newsattheturtle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lynda Powless\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\"},\"headline\":\"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":940,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"National News\",\"ticker\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/\",\"name\":\"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/22\\\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Turtle Island News\",\"description\":\"Your Source for Local News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Turtle Island News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2016\\\/08\\\/turtle150.jpg\",\"width\":140,\"height\":150,\"caption\":\"Turtle Island News\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/TurtleIslandNews\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/newsattheturtle\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/channel\\\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458\",\"name\":\"Lynda Powless\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lynda Powless\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/theturtleislandnews.com\\\/index.php\\\/author\\\/lynda\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News","og_description":"By Kezia Royer-Burkett, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter June is National Indigenous History Month in Canada, a time to recognize and celebrate the rich histories, cultures, traditions, and contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and M\u00e9tis Peoples. It is also an opportunity for Canadians to reflect on the relationships Indigenous communities continue to have with the lands they have stewarded for generations. Over the past several years, land acknowledgement statements have become a familiar part of life across Canada. They are spoken before public events, printed in programs, and displayed on municipal websites, including here in Burlington. Many residents have heard the words, but fewer understand what they truly mean for Indigenous communities living and working throughout the Halton Region today. On the City of Burlington website, the city acknowledges that Burlington","og_url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/","og_site_name":"The Turtle Island News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","article_published_time":"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00","og_image":[{"width":725,"height":483,"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/facebooklogo.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lynda Powless","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_site":"@newsattheturtle","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lynda Powless","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/"},"author":{"name":"Lynda Powless","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458"},"headline":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton","datePublished":"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/"},"wordCount":940,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["National News","ticker"],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/","name":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton - The Turtle Island News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-06-22T18:33:21+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/2026\/06\/22\/beyond-the-land-acknowledgement-indigenous-access-to-local-lands-in-halton\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Beyond the Land Acknowledgement: Indigenous Access to Local Lands in Halton"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","name":"The Turtle Island News","description":"Your Source for Local News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#organization","name":"Turtle Island News","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/turtle150.jpg","width":140,"height":150,"caption":"Turtle Island News"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/TurtleIslandNews\/","https:\/\/x.com\/newsattheturtle","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCOqB-hG3L6hRLsmqY0e5k0g"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/7b188fd7503577895ef8b306988cd458","name":"Lynda Powless","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9dcf622653a010411b0a01d44ed2a1a41158cc5195ea70acd7914787f81e63a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lynda Powless"},"url":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/author\/lynda\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/101363"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106072,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106071\/revisions\/106072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theturtleislandnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}