Land Acknowledgement Foundations
Land acknowledgements are vital in understanding and recognizing the Indigenous peoples and lands we recreate and live on. Creating a land acknowledgement is a way for organisations and individuals recognize the traditional Unceded or Treaty land and reinforce actions of Truth and Reconciliation. Research should include the history and traditional name of the land and the Indigenous Peoples that reside there.
Your Land Acknowledgement should be one of many steps in a lifelong relationship with Truth and Reconciliation. It will be ongoing work, and it should be revisited often to ensure the words you have chosen are still appropriate and accurate.
Consider the below resources as you begin your research.
Native Land Digital
The Native Land website will help you identify different nations worldwide, and give you links to research nations, languages, and treaties. Their website is updated as new information becomes available, so it is presented as a living document. Native Land Digital is a not-for-profit organization with the mission goal to create and foster conversations about the history of colonialism, Indigenous ways of knowing, and settler-Indigenous relations, through educational resources such as the map and Territory Acknowledgement Guide.
Understanding the History of the land:
Learn about Land Acknowledgements
Native Governance Center
This resource is based in the United States of America, so not all links and information will be directly applicable to the other regions. The guide is a great place to begin the process of developing a land acknowledgement.
Native Governance Center (US): A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
https://nativegov.org/news/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/
First Nations Health Authority
While presented as being specific to First Nations territories in British Columbia, the content of this booklet is very applicable to any Territory Acknowledgement.
First Nations Health Authority: Territory Acknowledgements Information Booklet
https://www.fnha.ca/Documents/FNHA-Territory-Acknowledgements-Information-Booklet.pdf
Land Acknowledgements and IMBA Canada
IMBA Canada Board members, sponsors, and membership operate across Canada on unceded and treaty lands. We feel that it would be inappropriate to group all First Nations, Inuit and Metis people together to create a simple land acknowledgement as each region is as distinct as the peoples who have stewarded the land since time immemorial. Our board members have provided land acknowledgements for the regions in which they reside to demonstrate different approaches to writing land acknowledgements.
Maggie – Golden, BC
I am privileged to live and recreate on the traditional and unceded lands of the Ktunaxa and Secwepemc People, and the chosen home of the Métis Nation. I recognize that the lands I live on have been irreversibly changed with the damming of rivers, construction of railways, other infrastructure, and continued colonialist practices. Golden, and the trail networks surrounding town, exist on lands that were traditionally used for hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering. It is our responsibility as mountain bikers, trail builders, outdoor recreationalists, and settlers to engage in Truth and Reconciliation.
Kyle – Ottawa, ON
I reside and live in the neighbourhood of Centretown in Ottawa, Ontario which is the traditional unceded and unconquered territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabe people and their descendants, who have stewarded, travelled and inhabited the national capital region and Ottawa watershed for millennia. I acknowledge all first Nations, Métis and Inuit on this land. I am grateful for the opportunity to be on this land, and I commit to learning more about and respecting all indigenous peoples and cultures of this region. I strive to step lightly on this land and remain committed to working towards reconciliation.