Land Acknowledgement

O’ Siem,

In the spirit of Zari, the thread that links my work, I raise my hands to my ancestral journey across other lands.

I raise my hands to you for reading this and holding space for me to share my ancestral journey – to the Matriarchs and Elders who have shared, for me to be.

My people trace to pre-partition India, a region impacted by occupation and colonization since the days of Columbus. When our communities were displaced to East Africa during the late 19th century, we then impacted the lands and ways of the Bantu and Nilotic Peoples of Kenya and Tanzania.

Upon the displacement of the South Asians from Eastern Africa, my family settled on the Treaty 7 territories of Alberta, where I was born. I later studied on the lands of the Algonquin Peoples of Ontario and worked in post-Colonial South Korea.

Today, I live, work and learn in British Columbia, Canada, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish — the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh). I honor and respect their enduring connection to this land, since time immemorial, offering gratitude for their traditions, teachings, and stewardship. I raise my hands in gratitude for the lessons and stories they share, that have in turn, created space for me to share my own ancestral journey.

I am, today, because of this woven complexity - which inspires me to approach my work with a deeper sense of connection, awareness, respect, and responsibility.

Chen kw’enmantúmi, Asante. (I thank you),

Zafira