We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

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FSSH Hosts Discussion on Indigenous Maya Health and Youth in Guatemala

A health-care system crisis has left Indigenous peoples in Guatemala without the care, resources and medication necessary to combat the high mortality rates among Maya K’iche’ women and children. Indigenous women are twice as likely to die during childbirth as non-Indigenous women, and children under the age of one are two-thirds more likely to die than non-Indigenous children.

Horizons of Friendship, a charitable international development organization in Cobourg, Ontario, is committed to ending these types of injustices in Central America and Mexico. With funding from the Government of Canada, Horizons’ Maternal Newborn and Child Health (MNCH): Reducing Gaps for Indigenous Peoples in Totonicapán, Guatemala project aims to help reduce the maternal, newborn and child mortality rates among Maya K’iche’ peoples in Totonicapán.

On October 29, Horizons of Friendship and the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities' (FSSH) Experiential Learning office co-hosted an event entitled Chosen Paths: Indigenous Maya Health and Youth in Guatemala. The event featured a panel discussion between a group of visiting Maya K’iche youth, a traditional midwife and a representative of the Totonicapán Health Directorate, who spoke about their mission to save lives in their communities.

"I was truly humbled by their stories of courage and resilience," says Dan Walters, Practicum Co-ordinator, FSSH. "The robust question-and-answer period, alone, demonstrated the immense value of this discussion. I am eternally indebted to the panelists for inspiring our students to make an impact on the world, as it is and as it will be. Without a doubt, this was one of my all-time favourite moments at Ontario Tech University".

To learn more about FSSH's partnership with Horizons of Friendship, check out the International Practicum page.