Mildenhall Montessori Schools in their physical manifestation and address are in Adobigok (which means Place of the Alders in the Ojibwe Language) and Tkaronto (which means "where there are trees standing in the water." in the Mohawk language). This land is uniquely situated along the Humber River watershed, which historically provided an integral connection for aboriginal peoples between the lakeshore of Ontario and the Lake Simcoe-Georgian Bay region. This area falls within the traditional territory of the Wendat, Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee Peoples.

During this time of global pandemic and subsequent virtual connection and education, we are grateful to be hosting those meetings while physically being on the traditional territory of the Wendat, the Anishnaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Métis, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Possibly - given the technology that brings us together -  some participants live and work on the traditional lands of additional First Nation Peoples and have a responsibility to recognize that privilege.

This territory is currently covered by Treaty 13, The Toronto Purchase Treaty of 1805.

On August 1, 1805, the Crown purchased 250 830 acres of land for the sum of 10 shillings while the Mississaugas reserved for themselves the right to exclusively fish on Etobicoke Creek.

In 1998, the Mississaugas of the Credit filed a claim against the Government of Canada relative to the 1805 Toronto Purchase Treaty. The Mississaugas contended that the Crown had unlawfully acquired more land- including the Toronto Islands, than had been originally agreed upon in the Toronto Purchase Treaty of 1787.   It was further claimed that the Crown had not paid a reasonable sum for the land obtained in the 1805 agreement.  In 2010, the Government of Canada settled the Toronto Purchase Claim and the Brant Tract Claim for compensation of $145 million- at that time the largest claims settlement in Canadian history.

Today, the cities of Etobicoke, Toronto, North York, York and Vaughan are located within the boundaries of the Toronto Purchase Treaty lands.

Beyond the acknowledgement of the boundaries of physical territory, we also recognize the significance of the Dish with One Spoon Covenant to this land. The Dish with One Spoon Covenant is a peace agreement made between Indigenous nations before the Europeans arrived. It characterizes our collective responsibility to each other and Mother Earth – we should take only what we need, leave enough for others and care diligently for the Earth. 

As a learning community that has the privilege to live and work on this land, we are required to be aware, knowledgeable, and active in the indigenization of our organization. Territory acknowledgements are one effort towards disrupting and dismantling colonial structures, and act in very small part to undo Indigenous erasure. Education - and perhaps most particularly Montessori education - has social power and thus the responsibility to reflect, disrupt, and repair the ongoing effects of colonialism.