Truth, Reconciliation and Your Library

Waterloo Public Library is located on the Haldimand Tract, land granted to the Haudenosaunee of the Six Nations of the Grand River. It is situated within the ancestral territory of the Anishnaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Neutral people who may have called themselves Chonnonton. These first people cared for the land on which we gather for many generations before European settlement.

As an organization that exists to make public spaces, credible resources and opportunities for learning available to everyone, the library is active in the work of truth and reconciliation. Preserving, amplifying and celebrating Indigenous stories is an important part of the work we do.

We commit to the daily work of reconciliation. This means learning and decision-making that recognizes the ongoing impact of colonialism as well as reflection, partnership and action that can make reconciliation possible.

 

About the Haldimand Tract​

On 25 October 1784, Sir Frederick Haldimand, the governor of Québec, signed a decree that granted a tract of land to the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois), also known as the Six Nations, for their alliance with British forces during the American Revolution (1775-83). The Haldimand Tract extends by 10 kilometers on both sides of the Grand River, from its source in Dundalk Township to its mouth at Lake Erie. Originally, 950,000 acres was designated for the Haldimand Tract, today approximately 48,000 acres remain.

Map of the Haldimand Tract