Land acknowlegement

The St.Catharines MABO studio is situated on the traditional territory of the Chonnonton Nation (Neutrals). The Neutral Confederacy was a union of Iroquoian nations who lived in the Hamilton-Niagara district of southwestern Ontario and across the Niagara River to western New York before their dispersal by the Haudenosaunee (Seneca) in the mid-17th century. Today the Niagara Region is home to the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples and many other First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. They continue to live and work here today and acknowledging reminds us that our great standard of living is directly related to the resources and friendship of Indigenous peoples. This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties and is within the land protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” Wampum agreement.

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The Punta de Mita MABO studio is located on the traditional land of many different indigenous tribes. The name itself comes from the Aztec word “mictlan” which means “gateway to paradise.” Evidence of civilization in the Punta Mita and surrounding areas dates back to at least 2000 BC. It is believed that at least six major cultural groups were present in the area before the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. The first recorded civilization in the region was the Cora, an agricultural tribe who survived from about 400 to 1200 AD. Although the tribe is not around anymore, many of its descendants still live in the area.

Other tribes that inhabited the region include the Tepehuano, Totorano, Aztatlán, and Huichole, the latter of which is believed to be the only pre-Columbian tribe existing in North America today. Several of these tribes formed a confederation, but were later pushed back by neighboring tribes and eventually, with the exception of the Huichol, melded into Spanish culture by the “Conquistadors"