COURTENAY, B.C- The largest community in the Comox Valley will be officially marking their presence on unceded territory.
On Tuesday morning, council approved a move to include the following statement on the first pages of all council meeting agendas and committee of the whole agendas;
“We respectfully acknowledge that the land on which we gather is the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation.”
The policy was first brought up by Councillor Rebecca Lennox on March 19, and was passed by council in one meeting. However, the exact form of the acknowledgement hadn’t been decided yet.
The practice is already done in the Valley by the Town of Comox, who include a territorial acknowledgement in their council agendas. The Comox Valley Regional District (CVRD) also has a protocol in place.
After the meeting, Lennox said she was happy with the decision. Mayor Larry Jangula was also pleased with the move.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said Jangula.
“We also had the amendment tonight to include from here on forward, on our letterhead, which is very similar to what Comox does, that we are pleased to live and work in the land of the K’ómoks First Nation. It’ll be on our letterhead, very good thing.”
