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 Faculty Member Takes Students Outside for Alternative Delivery Course

In response to Ontario Tech University's mandate to offer alternative delivery courses, one FSSH faculty member decided to take her students out of the typical classroom experience. During the Fall Reading Week, Associate Professor Sharon Lauricella, PhD, accompanied 33 students in the Communication and Digital Media Studies program to Ganaraska Forest for a three-day intensive module in an alternative delivery course on 'Listening.'

Research has shown that while listening is the communication skill we use the most, less than two per cent of the world population has received any training in this skill. Dr. Lauricella used this class as a way of changing this statistic.

During the trip, the group took part in hands-on learning activities, games and collaborative exercises meant to help students pay better attention and find connection with one another. In an exit survey, student feedback included statements such as, "The trip was the highlight of my undergraduate experience" and "I now have 32 new friends I thought I knew before, but really I hadn't taken the time to listen to them properly."