Visited 20 November 2018
This article summarizes Linc Kesler, Rima Wilkes, Aaron Duong, and Howard Ramos’s academic study, a first of its kind, “Canadian University Acknowledgement of Indigenous Lands, Treaties and Peoples”, published in Canadian Review of Sociology in February 2017. The study investigates land acknowledgements at Canadian universities. The article quotes UBC Professor Linc Kesler, “Acknowledgements indicate respect for Indigenous communities and bring attention to an often ignored history.” He continues, “It sets a context for present relationships among Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples that can be thought of in a more deliberate way.” The summary also indicates that, “The researchers also question whether or not acknowledgement helps promote reconciliation or merely acts as a ‘tokenistic practice of checking the box.’”