"Queen’s University is situated on Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee Territory.”
You may have heard this spoken, but do you know what it means? Land or territorial acknowledgments have become increasingly common in Canada, but can be challenging to do authentically. The Office of Indigenous Initiatives has a good resource and also offers workshops. To learn more about the history of the land known as Canada and the land known as Kingston, a few starting places include:
- Stones Kingston social history project
- Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada final report. 2015. Honoring the Truth, Reconciling for the Future.
- Queen’s University Truth and Reconciliation Commission Task Force final report. 2017. Yakwanastahentéha / Aankenjigemi / Extending the Rafters.
- Thomas King, The Inconvenient Indian. 2012. Toronto: Doubleday Canada.
Video: Land Acknowledgments
In this video we go over some the basics: what is a land acknowledgement and what is its purpose? We then explore some of the complexities and controversies around land acknowledgements such as “check-box” performative statements. We also discuss 4 different levels of engagement with land acknowledgments described by Stewart-Ambo and Yang (2021) and offer some potential action items for each.
Video: Meaningful Land Acknowledgements
Video by Lindsay Brant, Centre for Teaching and Learning
Two useful critiques of land/territorial acknowledgements are:
âpihtawikosisân, “Beyond territorial acknowledgments”.
Hayden King on writing Ryerson’s land acknowledgment