Author Acknowledgement

Shereen Hassan, Rochelle Stevenson, Carroll Boydell, and Wendelin Hume

The editors of this resource live and work in various regions of British Columbia, including Coquitlam, Langley and Kamloops, and also North Dakota.  Shereen Hassan worked from her home in Coquitlam, which is located on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territory of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem First Nation). Langley, where Carroll resides, is on the traditional, unceded territory of the q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), qw̓ ɑ:nƛ̓ ə̓ n̓ (Kwantlen), Mathxwí (Matsqui), and SEMYOME (Semiahmoo) First Nations.  Kamloops, where Rochelle resides, is located on the traditional territory of the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc, which is part of the unceded ancestral lands of the Secwépemc Nation. Lastly, Wendelin, one of the editors and also the Indigenous consultant for this resource, lives in North Dakota, which is the ancestral lands of the Ojibwe and Oyate people. We thank the Indigenous peoples who continue to live on these lands and care for them, along with the waters and all that is above and below.

In creating Open Education Resources such as this, we the editors acknowledge the importance of providing educational resources that incorporate and integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and being. We are grateful for the wisdom and insight of the Indigenous authors and co-editors that we have had the honour of working with on this project.  Thanks to colleagues at Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Thompson Rivers University and the University of North Dakota who are also committed to Truth and Reconciliation in the many areas of their work.  We continue to embrace a decolonial lens to the study of crime and deviance, and to support students by providing such free and accessible resources.  In particular, we recognize that Indigenous students face additional barriers to post-secondary education as a result of the ongoing harms of colonization.

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.