Why Are People Using These?
Watch this video:
The Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning takes this opportunity to acknowledge the work of Dr. Rose Roberts and Dr. Stryker Calvez, creators of the resources. Their work with Indigenization, decolonization, and reconciliation in teaching and learning led the way at the University of Saskatchewan. Their videos have been transferred from previous web pages and now live in this Pressbook. The goal is to continue to support everyone interested in learning more about meaningful, personalized land acknowledgements.
As mentioned, we recognize that there are many valid criticisms that the Land Acknowledgement has become a politically correct and empty protocol for some people. The newspapers are quick to disparage the inadequate job people have done in learning how to give a good Land Acknowledgement and have sown the seeds of discontent into our public narrative:
Dr. Rose Roberts and Dr. Stryker Calvez, when developing these resources, did not believe that this is an accurate understanding of the truth. We have witnessed a steady increase in the number of people who – many for the first time – understand that this land was, is and always will be an Indigenous place, as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the water flows. This is not a threat to how people live here, it is just a fact for a place that has nurtured and shaped its peoples for thousands of years. Furthermore, this impressionable process is now affecting the newcomers to this land in much the same way. For us, the Land Acknowledgement is more than a political statement, it is an invitation and invocation to appreciate and respect a place that so many of us call home.
If you are someone who is looking to dig deeper into how to use the Land Acknowledgement in this way, we recommend that you start by knowing your positionality. Each one of us is born and raised within a culture that has shaped our view of the world. To truly understand this protocol and how to deliver it with integrity and conviction, one must be cognizant of how you want to approach the Land Acknowledgement in relation to how Indigenous Peoples have been using it.