Most of Us are Giving Land Acknowledgements Wrong
Since the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report in 2015, the popularity of land acknowledgements has increased.
It makes sense; the truth and reconciliation report was created to capture the lived experiences of survivors of residential "schools" and provide the government and non-Indigenous folk with a guide to understanding this Canadian truth and steps to achieve reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.
A land acknowledgement serves as an important reminder, and the first step to remembering that this land isn't ours, that our government committed crimes against humanity to build the country we have now, and that we have a role to play in reconciliation right now.
The thing is, too many of us are just doing land acknowledgements and then patting ourselves on the back for it. A land acknowledgement is a bare minimum; unless it is paired with meaningful and ongoing solidarity, it is just more performative colonial bullshit.
Look, we've always felt that something was kind of off about how most people give land acknowledgements, but we couldn't properly unpack that until we had a conversation with our friends at Future Ancestors Services Inc.
Norval Morrisseau (Anishinaabe 1931-2007), Shaman and Apprentice
Before we do that, we want to state two things:
Unless you truly are committed to ongoing solidarity (voting in solidarity, doing business in solidarity, living in solidarity, showing up in solidarity, etc.) with Indigenous peoples, it doesn't matter if you give a great land acknowledgement or not.
Canada is made up of so many diverse and unique Indigenous communities. There may be other ways of giving a land acknowledgement than what we propose. We wrote this post after meeting with our friends at Future Ancestors, it's a great introduction, but if you really want to learn how to meaningfully give a land acknowledgement and practice what it stands for, then, you should hire orgs like Future Ancestors to help you do that work.
Many of us are giving land acknowledgements to check a box before moving on to the regularly scheduled programming, and it's beginning to show.
Lacklustre Land Acknowledgements are often 1-2 sentences and sound similar to this:
"This land used to belong to the -----"
"Just want to acknowledge I'm calling in from the traditional lands of the --------, under treaty --------"
"We're grateful to live, work and play on the traditional lands of the -----"
A land acknowledgement is meant to be more than just something you say after introducing yourself in a zoom meeting; it is an ongoing commitment. It is something you say out loud in a group setting but practices every day by the person giving it.
But too often, Canadians give land acknowledgements in the past tense—we highlight the history of colonialism or note the former caretakers as if this is ancient history, but it is not.
We know that the violence of colonialism exists today, in both covert and overt ways, so speaking in the past tense removes our current responsibilities to this land and the Indigenous peoples of it.
Done properly, a land acknowledgement is personal, intentional, and reflective of an ongoing commitment of what you have been doing and what you need to continue to do in solidarity. It acknowledges the land, your relationship with it and your responsibility to it. It acts as a reminder of Canada's historical and ongoing violence, as well as a personal commitment to do the work.
Language and Tenses:
When writing a land acknowledgement, it's important that the terminology accurately reflects the massive injustices experienced by Indigenous peoples at the hands of the government and individuals. Ask yourself: Am I minimizing the issues faced by Indigenous Peoples in my community? Am I using accurate terms including genocide, ethnic cleansing, stolen land and colonizer? Am I centring the comfort of the people I'm speaking to rather than the truth?
What's important to remember here is that colonialism has not ended. While you may think a land acknowledgment is solely for reflecting on the historical significance and an erasure of the current and ongoing colonial violence that is happening today. Rather than thinking of Indigenous Peoples as relics of a past life, we must recognize that they are still thriving in our communities as business owners, athletes, scholars and advocates for social change. That their very existence today is in direct defiance of what our colonial powers aimed and aims to accomplish.
Giving a Proper Land Acknowledgement
Before you write your land acknowledgment, make sure you do your homework. Conduct research on the Indigenous group(s) that have traditionally resided on the land. Spend time learning. With over 630 Indigenous communities across Canada representing over 50 nations, it's important to ensure your information is as accurate as possible. Along with the people, it is also good practice to research the previous uses of the land and any associated treaties.
>>Questions to Consider
Where are you situated? Native-Land.ca
If you are in a location that is not the land you engage with the most, what is your relationship to the land you are usually on and the land you are currently on?
What is the history here on this land?
What is currently occurring here on this land?
The next step requires reflection: what is your relationship with the land personally, you and your organization? This is an opportunity to use your perspective to recognize your responsibilities to the land and create a connection to it. This is meant to be personal and reflective.
>>Questions to Consider
You
How did you/your ancestors come to this land?
What is your family's relationship to colonialism?
What are the implications of you being on this land? Towards both the land itself and the nature, and also towards the original guardians of this land?
Your Organization
What are the implications of your organization being on this land? Towards both the land itself and the nature, and also towards the original guardians of this land?
Your land acknowledgement should end by discussing the responsibilities you and your organization have to the land as well as the original peoples of it. It should include what you and your organization have been doing and what you know you need to start doing. Saying this part out loud creates accountability so be specific and intentional with what you say. This part of your land acknowledgement is likely to change the most over time if you practice your solidarity right because you'll change what you have done and add new things.
>>Questions to Consider
How have you personally been working towards truth and reconciliation? How has your org?
What do you still need to do? What does your org still need to do?
Which Calls to Action from the TRC and Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into MMIWG2S are you and your org committed to?
How do you support Indigenous groups' work in your community?
What are your responsibilities to this land, and what will you do moving forward based on those responsibilities?
After the Land Acknowledgement: Ongoing Solidarity
You can give a long, thought-out, specific, personal and intentional land acknowledgement and still have it be performative bullshit. The reality is that a land acknowledgement is just lip service unless it's paired with you and your organization practicing your solidarity every single day.
That is really the only way to make your land acknowledgement meaningful and intentional. To take it from just an acknowledgement and make it a commitment.
Own a business? Consider donating a percentage of your profit to a local Indigenous organization and hiring a new team? Ask yourself what you can do to ensure folks have an equitable (not equal) chance to apply. How does your org work to indigenize? Can you hire Indigenous vendors? How are you personally working towards truth and reconciliation every day?
Remember, we can be better than the past colonizers by making choices today that they refused to take. So step your game up, Canada.
Here is a Land Acknowledgement written by our founder, Sam Krishnapillai, on behalf of On Canada Project.
The project was created in Markham, Ontario, which is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and exists on the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples.
We also acknowledge that this land is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We recognize that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 signed with the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Williams Treaty signed with multiple Mississaugas and Chippewa bands. Parts of GTA are also unceded.
Land acknowledgements allow us to meaningfully reflect on physical space and the land we sit on by analyzing ourselves and our connection to the land.
As I do this reflection, I acknowledge I am a Hindu-Tamil, brown skin, cis-gender, able-bodied, straight woman living as a settler on these Indigenous lands.
I am thinking about how my parents came to this land as a Sri Lankan Tamil immigrant (my mother) and refugee (my father), over 30 years ago, and the impacts of colonization that have rocked my own family and ancestors.
I also am thinking about the colonizers that came to these lands 400 years ago. This ongoing occupation of land has damaged the health of this land, and the Indigenous Peoples that are their original guardians.
I acknowledge that I have been complicit in settler colonialism and I am committed to ongoing learning and solidarity. I work everyday at showing up better, and am currently focusing in better understanding the 600+ rich and diverse communities that make up the three major Indigenous groups in Canada: Metis, Inuit and First Nations.
As an organization and team we are doing our own learning and reflection as a team, with the content we create being part of our own learning as individuals but also part of the work we are doing as an org towards truth and reconciliation. We have created oncanadaproject.ca/settlerstakeaction and you can search #OCPIndigenous on Instagram to find our content related to Indigenous justice.
As our orgnaization transitions from a passion project to a social enterprise we are committed to finding ways to cotninue to support, uplift, center, amplify, hire, donate to Indigenous folks and communities. We know there is always more we can be doing and are committed to centering Indigenous justice in our work.
To continue your learning, we welcome you to explore:
- 94 Calls to Action from the Truth and Reconciliation Report
- 231 Calls to Justice from the National Inquiry into the missing and murdered women, girls, and two-spirit folks
As a reminder reconciliation is a national responsibility and an individual one.
As non-Indigenous folks living in the land we now call Canada, we are treaty partners and our commitment to solidarity with Indigenous Peoples must be unwavering in all our advocacy and activism.
