Intention Statement
This project was started through a partnership with The Whale Sanctuary Project, an organization dedicated to bringing an end to the exploitation of whales and dolphins and provide a new shelter for those once captivated marine mammals. Our intention is to create educational materials on whales kept in captivity and their connection to Indigenous identities, as well as the significance of that relatedness.
We hope that the implementation of these materials in the classroom will ignite long-term interests in environmental, animal rights, and indigenous education and knowledge.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Whale Sanctuary is located in Port Hilford Bay, Nova Scotia, on the ancestral land of the Mi’kmaq people. This land has a long history of human settlement, as First Nations began settling here over 6,000 years ago. It is important to acknowledge the history of the colonial-era treaties and mechanisms that worked to subvert long-established indigenous claims to this land. With reverence to those who came before, those now, and those who have yet to come, we acknowledge the connection between the land, the water, and the Mi’kmaq.