Queering the Map was initiated on the unceded traditional lands of the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation. The island currently called “Montreal” is known as Tiohtia:ke in the language of the Kanien’kehá:ka, and it has historically been a meeting place for other Indigenous nations.
A queer approach to space points out the limitations of the ways in which the world around us is produced and normalized by and for certain bodies and not others. It is pertinent that we continuously reflect and act on the ways in which LGBTQIA+ life is complicit in ongoing processes of settler-colonialism. How does race, gender, sexuality, citizenship, ability, and class affect the ways in which we relate to, move through, and create space? As a pin on Queering the Map in Honolulu, Hawaii attests: “queer liberation must mean decolonization, and decolonization must mean queer liberation.”
If you are not currently aware of the rightful keepers of the land on which you are located, you can learn more at www.native-land.ca. Beyond simply acknowledging the colonial histories of the land on which you are located, we encourage you to take concrete steps towards decolonization by learning more about the ways in which you can support Indigenous communities in the fight for sovereignty. A good place to start is unistoten.camp.
