Why do a Land Acknowledgements?

MODULE 1: ENTRY 2

Rethinking the practice and Performance of Indigenous Land Acknowledgements summarizes several different presentations that were given for the Canadian Association for Theatre Research.  The first speaker, Dylan Robinson,  states we complete land acknowledgements to “affirm, declare, assert—Indigenous territories and lands that we are guests upon (and often as uninvited guests) is to begin to name specific histories of colonization and continued non-Indigenous occupation of Indigenous lands. ” (2019).  He goes on to outline the importance of the language that we use during a territorial acknowledgements including how we name our position to land and acknowledge the hosts of the land we are on.  

Phrasing and word choice, as well as intentions, behind the land acknowledgment should be well thought out and carefully chosen. “To move beyond the mere spectacle of acknowledgement as a public performance of contrition, we must take into account acknowledgement’s site and context specificity. ”  Robinson et al. (2019).  The quote reminds me of sketch by Baroness VonSketch where a land acknowledgement is read in a theatre before a performance and the intention behind the statement is questioned. It is worth a watch if you haven’t seen before. 

Reference

CBC Comedy. (2019, October 14). Land Acknowledgement. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7re1r0FY-4Y. Youtube.  https://youtu.be/xlG17C19nYo

Robinson, D., Hill, K.J.C., Ruffo, A.G., Couture, S., & Ravensbergen, L.C. (2019). Rethinking the Practice and Performance of Indigenous Land Acknowledgement. Canadian Theatre Review 177, 20-30. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/716610.