Territorial Acknowledgement & Commitment to Decolonization
Equal Routes acknowledges the role of global shipping in the historical and ongoing genocide and colonization that has led to the dispossession of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands and waters. Embedded over centuries, our modern maritime governance frameworks cannot be untangled from these complex histories of colonialism and imperialism. We continue to deconstruct the deep-rooted participation of the maritime shipping industry that supports and profits from the enslavement of people and the stealing of land, food, resources, and culture.
Equal Routes is committed to interrogating our own prejudices and those of the people we work with. We actively advocate for maritime governance and operations rooted in customary values and practices, centering equity and local solutions within the broader context of global shipping. We invite corrections and learnings to ensure we are not complicit in perpetuating a legacy of Indigenous marine dispossession, and to better understand the role our organization can play in fostering equitable maritime practices.