Holistic Wellness in the Spirit of Sankofa: Moving Forward, Guided by the Past

Written by Christina Sanakidis and Ellah Mangwiza, Managers – Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

“Black History is not just for Black people — Black history is Canadian History” The Honourable Jean Augustine

Black people have been on the lands now known as Canada prior to the formation of this nation. From the sought-after explorer and linguist Mathieu da Costa, whose presence here was noted in 1608, to young Olivier le Jeune, an enslaved child from Madagascar who was brought here by a British convoy in 1628, Black presence on this land predates the 1867 formation of the dominion of Canada on Indigenous lands.