More on Land Acknowledgements

A territorial or land acknowledgment is an act of reconciliation that involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers, and in many cases, still, do call it home.

Over the past few months, many conversations have arisen on social media and in the news around the land acknowledgments that are given in schools and other public places. How can we make sure that the acknowledgments are a meaningful practice rather than just a token gesture?

I see the land acknowledgment as a recurring opportunity to learn. As teachers, we can act on this learning opportunity and help to fulfill education’s responsibilities outlined in the TRC calls to action. You can read all 94 calls to action HERE.

I always encourage teachers to use the land acknowledgment that is recited each day in our schools as a learning tool or a conversation starter. Students and teachers and the rest of the school community should understand why we say them.

If you’re wondering why we say Land Acknowledgements in our schools please refer back to my blog post from November. You can find it here: Why the Land Acknowledgement is Important


Where to next?

Jen Gilpin, a teacher at PE McGibbon has created land acknowledgement videos that include the treaty area where her school is located. She has made sure to include visuals that are relevant and meaningful to the land and the people of Treaty 29 (Also known as the Huron Tract). These videos are played daily as part of PE McGibbon’s announcements, prior to signing O Canada. They can spark conversations in Social Studies around mapping, treaties and the history of the areas in which we live. Please feel free to use these videos in your classroom or your school.

Sarnia Area and North Lambton Area schools are within the Treaty 29 area. I am inviting teachers and their classes to create their own videos for the treaty area in which their school is found. Please share these videos with me (gretchen.sands-gamble@lkdsb.com) or tag me on Twitter @msgambleLKDSB) so I can share them with other teachers who may be interested in using them!

You may be asking, “In which treaty area can my school be found?” I’m glad you asked!

Teachers can use the map at https://native-land.ca/ to find out more about the area in which their school is located.

You can also use this interactive map in your classroom! Show your students the map found at https://native-land.ca/ You can change what is displayed by choosing language, territories, and treaties. Show them where their school is located. Ask your students what they notice about where the lines are drawn on the map.



(from https://native-land.ca/)

CBC Unreserved recently aired a podcast called “Redrawing the Lines” You can find the episode here: CBC Unreserved: Redrawing the Lines

This is a great episode that talks about land, land acknowledgments and maps.

Sharing podcasts created by Indigenous people is a great way to share Indigenous perspectives with your students.

I highly recommend Unreserved as a podcast for deepening your own (teacher) understanding of many issues that are important to Indigenous people. With each episode, some really great stories are shared and the conversations often provide views from multiple perspectives along with an opportunity to learn. In fact, there is a recent episode all about integrating Indigenous content into classrooms. It can be found here: CBC Unreserved Indigenous Education Episode

It is important for all students and teachers to understand that hundreds of years before today, the land looked very different. The places we call our schools, our homes, our recreation areas, our business/economic areas, and our natural resource areas have been impacted by treaties.

School communities should understand that the treaties with the Indigenous people who called this land their traditional territory have allowed the landscape and who inhabits this land to change drastically. This might be a conversation that is difficult or messy, but it is a conversation that needs to be had in order for our students to truly understand Canada and its history.