Centre for Immigration and Settlement

RCIS conducts its activities and occupies space in the traditional and unceded territory of nations including the Anishnaabeg, the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples, and territory which is also now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples. This territory is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, as well as the Williams Treaties signed with multiple Mississaugas. Indigenous peoples lived in what we call Canada for thousands of years before the arrival of the first Europeans. We cannot ignore immigration’s linkages to settler colonialism, which in Canada has seen the expropriation of Indigenous land; the erasure of Indigenous geographies; the suppression of Indigenous knowledge; and the violent displacement, oppression, and systematic abuse of Indigenous families. The resilience of Indigenous peoples is evidenced by the continued survival of their cultures, languages, and expression, along with ongoing reclamation and resistance activities. RCIS is committed to using our platform to emphasize and celebrate this resilience, and to challenge enduring colonial efforts to eradicate Indigeneity in Canada. In August 2021, the university announced that it would begin a renaming process to reconcile the legacy of Egerton Ryerson for a more inclusive future. Let's write the next chapter together.