Author Acknowledgement

This Open Education Resource (OER) project was conceived and led by a team of instructors from the Criminology Department of Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU), namely Shereen Hassan and Dan Lett.  KPU is named after the Kwantlen First Nation, with permission from the late Grand Chief Joe Gabriel. KPU’s motto, “Through tireless effort, knowledge, and understanding,” derives from the word “Kwantlen,” which means “tireless runner.” As members of the KPU community, we respectfully acknowledge that our campuses stand in a region south of the Fraser River which overlaps with the unceded traditional and ancestral lands of the Kwantlen, Musqueam, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Qayqayt and Kwikwetlem peoples.

In the process of producing this OER, our team sought the guidance of KPU’s Elder in Residence, Lekeyten of the Kwantlen First Nation. Lekeyten impressed upon us that educators have a responsibility to acknowledge and respect the geographic and historical context of our knowledge. As academics, our data are derived from the lived experiences of people who have intimate relationships with land and nature; abstract theories are the culmination of ideas, labour, and conversations, passed from lip to ear. Our role as educators is to make these connections apparent. Lekeyten reminds us that a book will never be able to communicate in the ways that Indigenous knowledge was passed down and that we need to connect to nature and the world around us in our search for justice.

Publisher Acknowledgement

This book was published by Kwantlen Polytechnic University, whose campuses are located on the unceded traditional and ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), qic̓əy (Katzie), SEMYOME (Semiahmoo), scə̓waθən (Tsawwassen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), and the lands of the qw̓ɑ:nƛ̓ə̓n̓ (Kwantlen) First Nation, which gifted its name to this university. Resources from the lands in their territories were used in the publication of this book.

We share the information, knowledge, research results, etc. under this open license as a way of practicing reciprocity: giving back a portion of what we took in a way that we hope will have a positive impact on Indigenous students, KPU, and the wider Indigenous and non-Indigenous community. As part of our commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Calls to Action [PDF], we recognize our responsibility to address and reduce ongoing systemic colonialism, oppression, and racism that Indigenous Peoples continue to experience.