Have you noticed that land acknowledgements have become more numerous in recent years? Want to learn more about them? Come meet our guest speaker Emma Slibeck, President of the Native American Student Association at Wellesley College. She will talk with us about how a well thought out land acknowledgement can lead to a broader understanding of our history in this country with indigenous people and point the way to better relationships in the future. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

(Map courtesy of Loren Spears at https://risdmuseum.org/sachem)

Here is some reading about Land Acknowledgments to get you started.

Why Land Acknowledgments Matter: One anthropologist views the public recognition of traditional lands as a way to remember the past while stepping toward the future.

By Chip Colwell (Extract), July 10, 2019

I’m not alone. Despite, or perhaps because of its increasing popularity, some have criticized the growing practice of land acknowledgment. Even advocates of Indigenous peoples have warned that “the scripts can be disingenuous token gestures, a symbolic way for settlers to appease First Nations without taking meaningful action.”

But in recent months, I have come to believe land acknowledgment is the start of action—a concrete step to bring forgotten histories into present consciousness. Land acknowledgment is a recognition of a truth, a kind of verbal memorial that those who speak it erect in honor of Indigenous peoples. Like a memorial, land acknowledgment pays respect to Indigenous peoples by recognizing where they came from and affirming who they are today. And like a memorial, land acknowledgment is an education—enlisting speakers and audiences to learn about a region’s Indigenous history.

Reconciliation with Indigenous peoples will require work: improving education, creating economic opportunities, protecting sacred places, and much more. Confronting the past in all its beauties and horrors does not replace these efforts, but helps animate them.

We can begin by simply saying, “We respectfully acknowledge that we are on the traditional land of the ______ people.”