What is a land acknowledgment?

Land acknowledgements are a type of protocol that ask people to share who they are, where they come from, the relationship to the land they are visiting/residing on, and their intentions. To learn more about the diversity of Indigenous protocols, review the work done by Chelsea Vowel, Bradley Dick, and the Ontario Arts Council.

Land acknowledgments serve as a reminder that the land on which we learn, teach, work, live, and play is stolen. Such acknowledgements can be an opportunity to share histories, teachings, and actions for how we can be better stewards to our lands, waters, and communities. They can be used to bring to the foreground the reality of our individual relationships to colonization and how we specifically benefit from colonization as settlers and as folks who attend a colonial institution. Offering land acknowledgements can also create an opportunity for us and others to reflect on and challenge our own views and perspectives.

To learn more about land acknowledgements and how to develop one, see this self-guided UBC course, Indigenous Learning Pathways: Land Acknowledgements at UBC available for faculty, staff, and students, and this CTLT one-pager on giving land acknowledgements.