Mississauga Land Acknowledgement

Prophix’s head office is on Treaty 14 land, a territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, speakers of Anishinaabemowin, protectors of the environment, & guardians of tradition, with deep cultural roots none have unearthed. We are here because this land was occupied. We acknowledge our collective responsibility in recognizing colonial histories & present-day implications. We are grateful to work on this land & for the opportunity to honour First Nations, Métis, & Inuit.

Acknowledging the original caretakers of the places we live, play, & work raises awareness & honors the people of these lands. This is but one step in our efforts to empower & support the First Nations, Métis, & Inuit of Canada. We are committed to doing the work involved in lessening the inequities experienced by the many unique cultures of the original peoples of Turtle Island.

To begin with it’s important to understand that, even in treaty, the matter is not settled:

“The interpretation of treaties is supposed to favour the Indigenous, yet the treaties are written in English, usually from the perspective of the Crown, with little, if anything reflected of the Indigenous people who are signing it.

…There’s a lot of history to unearth to understand all perspectives. Treaties were developed for a purpose by the government; to claim the land. And they are unfair, untruthful, & unscrupulous in most cases, & sometimes just wrong. Treaties also talk of ownership of land. A concept alien to historical Indigenous people on this land.

…They were at a loss when it comes to negotiating treaties. Even today when I talk about ownership of a land, I’m compromisde, because I see our Mother Earth as alive. Energy, spirit, & life exists in all things, so how do you own any of that? Is it any wonder First Nations were taken advantage of during treaty agreements when the world perspectives of the different nations were so totally separate?”

- Chief R. Stacey Laforme of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

The City of Mississauga is connected to five treaties signed between The Crown and the Indigenous Mississaugas between 1805 & 1820: Provisional Agreement 13-A, Treaty 14, Treaty 19, Treaty 22 & Treaty 23.

As per Ontario.ca our head office is on Treaty 14 land; a transcript of which you can find here & a map of which you can find here.

The Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation are part of the Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Nation & their language is Anishinaabemowin. They are direct descendants of the Mississaugas of the Credit signatories of Head of the Lake Treaty, No. 14 – signed in 1806. The name “Mississauga” is believed to mean “River of the North of Many Mouths.”

Please see Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCF) history of lands for additional information.

We endeavor to assist the global community through Corporate Social Responsibility. In Q1 2021, employees chose First Nations Child & Family Caring Society as the recipient of our Purpose Project donation. We look forward to supporting more related causes to improve awareness and seek reconciliation.