MODULE 1: ENTRY 1
As my role as Indigenous Ed Lead at my school, I am asked at the beginning of each staff meeting to read a land acknowledgement.
We acknowledge that we are, in all the schools and communities of SD, located within the traditional land of Treaty No. 6 and home of Métis Nation of Alberta Zone 2 and Zone 4. We also acknowledge the Inuit and other diverse Indigenous peoples whose ancestors have marked their territory since time immemorial, a place that has welcomed many peoples from around the world to make their home here. It is a vast area encompassing large portions of central Alberta & Saskatchewan, places we are blessed to live, work, and play every day. (Aside to Shirley Anne …as a follow up to our conversation on territorial acknowledgments, I had not noticed ours included the live, work and play phrase in it.)
After reading the meeting goes on and nothing further is discussed. Is this meaningful? Is there anyone in the meeting that has a better understanding of the what the land they are living on was used for and who lived there? The following video from the Calgary Foundation was the beginning of my search to find a different ways to acknowledgement the land during our meetings. It is presented by the people from Treaty 7 lands.
“This land has to be acknowledged. The people that took care of this land or a long time have to be acknowledged. You know, at least find the truth about us.”
Beverly Hungrywolf Kainai Nation, Blackfoot confederacy (Calgary Foundation, 2019)
Reference:
Calgary Foundation. (2019, January 27). Land Acknowledgement. [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/7re1r0FY-4Y
What a beautiful video Deedee…”Land Acknowledgement” shows how the Indigenous peoples from Treaty 7 lands, know what the meaning of life is. We need to remind ourselves that this planet that we live on provides to us in so many ways, but what do we provide it? We take from it, but how much, if any, do we give back? This video did give me a very meaningful insight and understanding of what the land we are all living on is used for, who inhabits it, who respects it and how can we conserve and protect it from further harm.
-Selene
Thank you for sharing, DeeDee. The video that you shared is beautiful.
I was directed to an article by Selena Mills, and Indigenous write, that eloquently explains the purpose of the land acknowledgement and why it is important. Reading it helped me to explain to my class why we say the land acknowledgement each morning.
Mills, Selena (2019). What are land acknowledgements and why do they matter? Local Love. https://locallove.ca/issues/what-are-land-acknowledgements-and-why-do-they-matter/#.YKqliGjYrmU
Thanks so much for the article Allison. It is a great summary. I am working to avoiding what Mills (2019) describes as the “surface approach of political correctness: checking off a box without really investing in learning what the motive or mandate requires, or its historical relevance”