The Montreal Canadiens will honour area First Peoples with a new pre-game tradition for every game at the Bell Centre this season.
Starting with Saturday night’s home opener against the New York Rangers, the Canadiens will “feature a land acknowledgment every home game, in honour of the past, present, and future contributions of local Indigenous peoples.”
The Canadiens are returning home coming off of their first 0-2-0 start since the 2000-01 season. They hope to avoid their first 0-3 start since opening 1995-96 with five straight losses.
Below is the full text of the acknowledgment, as provided by the Canadiens:
The Montreal Canadiens wish to acknowledge the Kanien’keha:ka, also known as the Mohawk Nation, for their hospitality on this traditional and unceded territory where we are gathered today. Tiohtià:ke/Montréal is historically known as a gathering place for many First Peoples. Today, it is home to a diverse population of Indigenous and other peoples. We respect the continued connections with the past, present and future in our ongoing relationships with Indigenous and other peoples within this community where we have now had the privilege to play for over one hundred years.