Indigenous Land Recognition
The Old-Growth Forest Network is created from the original forests across the continent where Indigenous people live and have lived for countless generations. We acknowledge and honor the legacy of Indigenous relationships with the forests in the Network and celebrate their continued stewardship of these sacred spaces. Many imagine “old-growth” as a lack of human intervention in a forest, but this attitude discounts both Indigenous and natural histories of these landscapes. With full knowledge of the way European settlers frequently removed Indigenous people from the land and embarked on widespread forest destruction, we embrace our responsibility to both recognize and rectify these past injustices. OGFN actively works with Tribal Representatives throughout the forest recognition process to ensure that Indigenous traditions and practices are regarded with utmost respect. Our forests span many territories across the country: some are presently populated by Indigenous people while others are not. A land acknowledgement recognizing the Tribes that are the original stewards of the forests in the Network can be found on each forest detail page. We draw this information from Native Land Digital (https://native-land.ca/).