​Today we acknowledge that this sacred land on which Smiths Falls is now located has been a site of human activity for over 10,000 years and is rich in Indigenous history. This land is the ancestral and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe Nation. We are grateful to the Algonquin ancestors who cared for the land and water in order that we might meet here today. We are also grateful to the Algonquin People for their contribution in the making of the Rideau Canal which runs through Smiths Falls. We are mindful of the broken covenants and the need to reconcile with all our relations. Together, may we care for this land and each other, drawing on the strength of our mutual history of nation building through peace and friendship being mindful of generations to come.