Going beyond land acknowledgement

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Read my land acknowledgements for where I live and conduct my research.

As part of a day-long symposium ("People and Nature") on environmental justice, ethnoecology, and place-based research in April 2022, I presented the symposium's land acknowledgement. In the hopes of sharing with others what I have learned during the months of research for this acknowledgement, I've posted a link to the video below. Here's a link to the presentation I used.

​Before you watch my presentation, I encourage you to check out these fabulous resources, on which I relied heavily for my April land acknowledgement. The biggest takeaways I had from these sources were (1) doing your own research is hard work, but a very important and iterative process; and (2) just as essential is to step beyond simple acknowledgement by calling on your audience to take action. We have to move past platitudes and encourage real time and money commitments to the peoples we are acknowledging.

• What Good is a Land Acknowledgement: Presentation by Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy. [link]
• Sicangu CDC guide on land acknowledgement. [link]
• Native Governance Center’s excellent guide [link] and explainer video [link], as well as their 2019 Indigenous Peoples’ Day panel on the subject [video]; video link directs to the beginning of Rhiana Yazzie’s reflections, which I found particularly inspiring.
• Duke Forest’s land acknowledgement. [pdf]
• Care About Climate's list of Five Steps to Writing A Land Acknowledgment. [link]

​I am not an expert in writing land acknowledgements. There is always more to learn and do. But we can't let the knowledge of imperfection stop us from starting somewhere! I welcome any comments and criticisms on this land acknowledgement, so please reach out. Most importantly, take action yourself:

Local-level donation suggestions

• “The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation is continuously committed to the preservation, protection and promotion of our history, culture and traditions; while providing social, economic and educational resources, opportunities and services that will contribute to the well being of the tribal community.” Donations will likely go towards ongoing parts of the Homeland Preservation project for repairing the tribal village grounds, specifically buying materials to support the reconstruction of the ati’s (huts) at the village site. [about][donate][support Occaneechi artists][directions][calendar of events]
• “The Triangle Native American Society (TNAS) is a visionary entity empowering American Indian people residing in the Triangle Community to become resilient leaders advocating for educational advancement, economic sufficiency, self-determination and cultural inclusiveness and awareness by capitalizing and building upon the strengths of the community and the infrastructure that promotes and encourages the blending of diverse groups. TNAS seeks to foster a local Native community while bridging the various cultural and traditional practices members bring from their respective home tribal communities. Our objective[s]: (1) Obtain and administer funds to address the needs of its American Indian community; (2) Provide residents residing in the Triangle community information and referral services; (3) Educate and cultivate cultural awareness through programming and other forms of media; (4) Promote unity and strength through advocacy for the American Indian population; and (5) Strengthen educational achievement by providing a culturally relevant learning experience.” [about][donate]
• UNC Chapel Hill’s American Indian Center’s three goals are leadership in American Indian scholarship and research, engagement with and service to Native populations, and the enrichment of campus diversity and dialogue [donate]. UNCCH also has two research funds regarding Native studies: The American Indian Studies Fund, used to support the education and research objectives of faculty members working in the field of American Indian Studies [donate] and the Henry Owl Fund, used to support the education and research in Cherokee history, languages, and culture [donate].

National-level donation suggestions

• “The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, Inc. (NIWRC) is a Native-led nonprofit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The NIWRC provides national leadership in ending gender-based violence in tribal communities by lifting up the collective voices of grassroots advocates and offering culturally grounded resources, technical assistance and training, and policy development to strengthen tribal sovereignty. Our staff and board of directors consist of Native women from throughout the United States with extensive experience and commitment to ending violence against Native women and their children. NIWRC’s staff bring decades of expertise in building the grassroots movement to increase tribal responses to domestic violence and increase safety for Native women.” [about] [donate]
• “Since 1970, the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) has provided legal assistance to Indian tribes, organizations, and individuals nationwide who might otherwise have gone without adequate representation. NARF has successfully asserted and defended the most important rights of Indians and tribes in hundreds of major cases, and has achieved significant results in such critical areas as tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, natural resource protection, and Indian education. NARF is a non-profit 501c(3) organization that focuses on applying existing laws and treaties to guarantee that national and state governments live up to their legal obligations.” [about] [donate]
• “The American Indian College Fund was founded in 1989. For over 31 years, the College Fund has been the nation’s largest charity supporting Native student access to higher education. We provide scholarships, programming to improve Native American student access to higher education, and the support and tools for them to succeed once they are there.” [about] [donate]
• “LANDBACK is a movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands. Currently, there are LANDBACK battles being fought all across Turtle Island, to the north and the South. As NDN Collective, we are stepping into this legacy with the launch of the LANDBACK Campaign as a mechanism to connect, coordinate, resource and amplify this movement and the communities that are fighting for LANDBACK.… To truly dismantle white supremacy and systems of oppression, we have to go back to the roots. Which, for us, is putting Indigenous Lands back in Indigenous hands.” [about] [donate]