Ma
Um, it was entirely unhelpful, but thank you nevertheless.
I've seen a bunch of different land acknowledgements,
including at my younger sibling's school,
and it got me thinking, why do we do them
and are they meaningful,
especially to Indigenous people?
[swoosh]
This is KN Explains, land acknowledgements.
♪ [light]
All right, let's start with the basics.
What are land acknowledgements?
So land acknowledgements are just taking the time
and the space to acknowledge the land that we are on,
whether it's in the Anishinaabe territory, Cree territory,
or any, I guess, Indigenous landmarks across Canada.
We are taking the time to acknowledge that space
and also acknowledging the history of that landmark
that we are on.
And I've been seeing more and more land acknowledgements
in my life, at sporting events,
before meetings, at schools.
It feels like the thing to do.
Especially since the Truth and Reconciliation
Commissions final report.
I think there's been a lot more discussion about
Indigenous peoples ongoing relationships with territory,
and so... existing acknowledgments, uh, practices
have expanded, in some cases accelerated.
So that's when they started to become
popular in Canada, but it's not when they started.
Where I live here on the West Coast.
It's a very, very old, old tradition and old protocol
and it's a way of, you know, when you step into someone
else's territory, you're recognizing the fact
that you are in a different relationship
with the land and also with the communities.
Indigenous communities from across the globe have
been doing them for a very long time
and in Australia, for example, non indigenous people
have been doing them since the 1970s.
♪ ♪
So is there a right or wrong way to do land knowledgements,
or is it enough to just do them?
It's not enough, I think, for people to just say,
Hello, I'm so and so,
I acknowledge that I'm on this land...
anyway, continuing on.
According to Doctor Daniel Justice,
a common mistake people can make is...
They kind of treat it as a formula.
Rather than a declaration of relationship,
so it can become this kind of thing, like,
I'd like to recognize dada, dada, dada, da.
Now let's just get to business, as it's kind of a formula
that you have to say, but you're not actually
thinking about the why of it.
♪ ♪
So let's look at an example with Doctor Justice.
Here's one I think a lot of kids can relate to.
The Toronto Blue Jays have one posted outside
their home stadium, Rogers Centre.
Daniel:
about it is that it's specific.
It's not just kind of generic, it's actually
speaking to very specific communities,
very specific traditions,
and then they again acknowledge the stories
of each of these nations endure and continue to guide
our thoughts and actions on this land.
It's unclear how this does that guidance.
I don't really know what they're doing other than
acknowledging, I think that's always one
of the challenges with these as well.
Is... and then what?
So here's the acknowledgement.
What are we doing with that?
And that's, that's not clear here,
but again, I think it's always a good start.
And Nathalie Restoule, whose TikTok
we watched earlier thinks...
Nat:
and transforming it into action.
That's what I believe.
So when I posted my video, that's kind of what
I wanted to come across and saying, we need to do more
than just saying this was your land.
Thank you very much.
Kind of thing.
But what does that kind of action look like?
When it comes to companies and corporations,
Daniel says...
Are they participating in scholarships
for Indigenous students?
Are they helping with language revitalization efforts?
Like, I think especially when we have corporate
acknowledgments, I always want to know what the work is.
But what about people or kids my age?
What can we do?
You know, take it upon yourself as a young Canadian person.
If you hear, you know, that you're in the land,
in the homelands of the Lakota Sioux.
Use your own time and your own energy to go and discover.
Well, who who are the Lakota Sioux?
What did the, what did the Lakota Sioux believe in?
You know, what are these lands traditionally called?
You know, what can we do to ensure that
these lands are safe and that they're being well
taken care of and that they're being respected.
In my research for this video, I found some pretty cool tools
that can help you get started.
Check this one out.
It's called Native Land Digital.
♪ ♪
OK, so we talked about the Rogers Centre, right?
where the Blue Jays play.
Let's use Native Land Digital to see what lands
and territories it sits on.
I just punch it into the search bar
and check it out.
It takes me right to where the Rogers Centre is.
I hover my mouse over it and I can see all
the territories it sits on.
♪ ♪
Now, they themselves say
this map is not perfect and may not represent the exact
legal boundaries, but it's a great starting point
to learn more
and you can always look into each of the
individual territories to dig a little deeper.
I am a guest here on the traditional territory
of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg people
of Treaty 20.
That's great. So as I was saying--
OK, I think I get it.
Land acknowledgements are a great starting point,
but they can also boost their meaning
if there's only words and no actions.
There's also the legal side of land that has
a lot to do with treaties.
It's important, but too much for us to cover
in this KN Explains,
but don't worry, that's our next topic.
That's it for KN Explains.
For CBC Kids News, I'm Ainara Alleyne.
♪ ♪
[popping]
I spoke to some amazing people who helped me as I was
trying to understand this topic and we did a bunch of research
[magical chimes]
Check out this graphic.