"We would like to open our event today by acknowledging that the land on which we gather is the occupied/unceded/seized territory of the Wichita, Caddo, Comanche, and Cherokee tribes. These tribes have stewarded this land throughout the generations, and we would like to pay our respects to elders, both past and present.”

Virtual SIGDOC 2020: A New Decade of Technology and Design,
a conference virtually hosted by the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas.
(Statement courtesy of The University of North Texas’ Pride Alliance) 

"The Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences would like to acknowledge with respect the Onondaga Nation, firekeepers of the Haudenosaunee, the indigenous peoples on whose ancestral lands Syracuse University now stands.

Pronunciation:
Onondaga [a-nun-daw-guh]
Haudenosaunee [ho-dee-noo-shoo-nee]"

Land Acknowledgement Statement, Syracuse University College of Arts & Sciences

Have you ever heard or read a statement like one of these, perhaps at the opening of a conference, on a website, or at the beginning of a podcast? Did you wonder what they were talking about? These are examples of land acknowledgements, and they are being seen and heard more often.

Already common practice at events in public, civic, and academic spaces in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, land acknowledgements are becoming more widely adopted in the United States as well. You may encounter them at local government meetings, on university websites, in academic conferences, or even at arts performances and sporting events. As we begin to see them more often, it is helpful to understand what they are and why they are important.

What Is A Land Acknowledgement?

A land acknowledgement -- also known as a territorial acknowledgement or an Indigenous land acknowledgement -- is a formal statement recognizing land originally inhabited by or belonging to Indigenous peoples and acknowledging these peoples as traditional stewards of the land. It honors the enduring relationship that exists between them and their traditional territories. The acknowledgement is a way to recognize the enduring presence and resilience of Indigenous peoples in the area for time immemorial. They are also a reminder that we are all accountable to these relationships.

While land acknowledgements may be a new concept to many of us, they actually have existed for hundreds of years as part of many Indigenous cultures. According to Karyn Recollet, a Cree woman and an associate professor at the University of Toronto's Women and Gender Studies Institute, “acknowledging relationships to space and place is an ancient Indigenous practice that flows into the future.” 

Why Are Land Acknowledgements Significant?

“Land acknowledgements are one step in helping people recognize where the land came from, how it has evolved, who made contributions, who has benefited, and how that has been part of the fabric of this institution,” says Ron Scott, PhD, vice president for diversity and inclusion at Miami University (MU) in Ohio, which has worked to establish a lasting relationship with the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma (originally known as the Myaamia), whose large homelands include the space where the campus now sits.

Opening an event or meeting with a land acknowledgement, or including one in a written statement on your website, in organizational information, or in institutional signage, allows for reflection and demonstrates a recognition of Indigenous lands and peoples who have called them home while raising awareness about histories that are often suppressed or erased. It helps to focus on what has happened in the past and what changes can be made moving forward to advance reconciliation. Land acknowledgements mark a small but important step in the process of building positive relationships with Indigenous peoples. By making a land acknowledgement you are taking part in an act of reconciliation, honoring the land, and recognizing an Indigenous presence which dates back over thousands of years before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases still exists today.