About Us
Preparing youth to succeed
in a global economy
Land Acknowledgement
All JA Central Ontario learning experiences and events occur on the territory of many Indigenous Peoples.
JA Central Ontario serves communities on the traditional territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto, where we are based, is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit. This land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
JA celebrates the inspirational Indigenous Peoples and communities who call this region home and acknowledges the truth of Canada’s history. JA Central Ontario understands that reconciliation is a shared responsibility for all, requiring action every day.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT INDIGENOUS HISTORY
ARTWORK BY JOHN FERRIS
Growth and Sovereignty
October 03, 2021
Our secondary school students are ready to grow into entrepreneurs and leaders in the skilled trades and technology sectors. When I created this painting, I wanted the orange granite relief to pay tribute to the Every Child Matters movement. The pictographs and syllabics represent history, sovereignty, resilience, and purpose. The silhouette of the Chief and the landscape are a reflection of the strength, unity and tradition of our First Peoples all around today’s world. Water is the living gift of Mother Earth, needed for life and growth, for clarity and cleansing. The female dancer is Canada’s Indigenous Culture, the Mother of tradition, and the Mother of generations. The landscape is a vision of discovery and progress, growth, of moving to the new horizon.
Contained within this wholeness of nature are some human symbols. These numbers, letters, and icons are the language and levers of an education and economy in which we will all take part. They are the tools of the new realities that we can create.
John Ferris / Indigenous Artist
