The article discusses the City of Vancouver’s formally acknowledging that it was located on the “unceded territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Indigenous peoples” and how it does not improve the life’s of the Indigenous people of the area but is it just a “settler move to innocence”.
Hamilton, H.G. (2015, January 7). Beyond a Formal Acknowledgement. The Mainlander. https://themainlander.com/2015/01/07/beyond-a-formal-acknowledgement/
The article is a critical review of Land Acknowledgements from Indigenous PhD student Joe Wark.
“While initially understood as culturally based political statements to resist the erasure of Indigenous presence and colonial violence, these practices have been repurposed in settler institutions. Land acknowledgements have now become deeply embedded in state-sponsored “forgive-and-forget” reconciliation efforts that seek to absorb Indigenous peoples into the body politic of “good Canadians.”
– Wark (2021).
Joe Wark(2021)Land acknowledgements in the academy: Refusing the settler myth,Curriculum Inquiry,51:2,191-209,DOI: 10.1080/03626784.2021.1889924
The University of Saskatchewan has developed an excellent website on developing your own land acknowledgement.
“To do this, you must use your own voice and provide the Land Acknowledgement from your heart.“
The site has 5 videos that provide the why, historical perspectives and lastly building your own acknowledgement. It is part of a set of free online learning modules called Indigenous Voices. Other topics include Indigenous Education, Power and Privilege and Land Agreements.
Reference:
University of Saskatchewan. (2021). Land Acknowledgements. https://teaching.usask.ca/curriculum/indigenous_voices/land-acknowledgements/module.php
I was introduced to ArcGIS StoryMap in ETEC 510 as part of our curriculum guide and found it has a ton of potential for classroom use. I have never created one myself so I have been exploring different tutorials available in preparation for creating my project with the program. The following blog gives a great outline of how to plan out your Storymap.
Reference
Wilbur, Hannah. (2019, June 16). Planning and outlining your story map: How to set yourself up for success. ArcGIS blog. https://www.esri.com/arcgis-blog/products/arcgis-storymaps/sharing-collaboration/planning-and-outlining-your-story-map-how-to-set-yourself-up-for-success/
The York University Land Acknowledgement could be used with staff and students to explain why acknowledgements are used. It is from the perspective of the University but the concepts can apply to any of our school buildings. There are several professors and students that speak to why acknowledgements are important and how we can make them more meaningful rather than something you check off as part of your meeting or presentation.
Reference:
cass yorku. (2019, January 2). Understanding the Land Acknowledgment. [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNZi301-p8k
The article “Canada’s Impossible Acknowledgement” was published in the New Yorker in 2017. The article provides some perspective on Canadian history, inclusion in acknowledgements, and the issues that are holding back the progress of true reconciliation.
Reference:
Marche, Stephen. (2017, September 7). Canada’s Impossible Acknowledgement. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/canadas-impossible-acknowledgment
I had the opportunity to help set up two Legacy of Hope exhibits this pass week at our Central Learning Services. Legacy of Hope is foundation that has 19 different exhibits that are available to book for your school. We currently have the following two:
100 Years of Loss – Describes the history of Residential Schools in Canada
2. Peter Henderson Bryce: Man of Conscience – Peter Bryce was a medical officer that brought awareness to the high number of TB cases in Residential schools at the beginning of the 20th century.
The Centre for Free Expression started a Peter Bryce Prize for Whistleblowing this past year. The first person awarded was Dr. John O’Connor, an Alberta physician that has been researching the unusually large number of rare cancers that are occurring in Fort Chipewyan in Northern Alberta. Despite being fired from his job he continued to advocate to bring awareness to the negative impacts of the oil industry.
References
News. (2021, March 3). Dr. John O’Connor wins the 2021 Peter Bryce Prize. Centre for Free Expression. https://cfe.ryerson.ca/news/dr-john-o%E2%80%99connor-wins-2021-peter-bryce-prize
Exhibitions. (2020). Legacy of Hope Foundation. https://legacyofhope.ca/home/exhibitions/
I am looking forward to exploring this newly released book this semester as I work on my research project. It provides the history and cultural practice of land acknowledgements and explores the do’s and don’ts as you create your own.
Reference:
Suzanne Keeptwo. (2021). We All Go Back to the Land : The Who, Why, and How of Land Acknowledgements. Brush Education.
It is available to read online through the UBC Library.
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 Review177, 20-30. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/716610.
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.”
