Depending on how an acknowledgement is said, I sometimes feel it could be perceived as token. I have started to appreciate when people deviate from the standard script by giving thanks or adding personal context. That said, to date, on the occasions I have made an acknowledgement, I myself have not deviated. I appreciate this course for helping me to start thinking about what that deviation may look like. The next time I have the opportunity, I might try something like:
I would like to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.
I was born and raised in Richmond Hill, a town in Southern Ontario. I have only recently learned that these were the traditional territories of the Wendat, the Haudenosaunee, and the Anishinaabe peoples. My maternal and paternal great grandparents left Scotland in the early 1900s, in search of a better life for their families.
I want to thank the people of Kwanlin Dün First Nation and Ta’an Kwäch’än Council for allowing us to raise our family on their beautiful lands.
I was in a workshop last fall when I was first asked to situate myself in the world. It saddened me to acknowledge my lack of connection to my family history, but it also inspired me to identify my ancestral connections. The statement above would be very authentic for me, as choosing to move to the Yukon to raise our family on these beautiful lands was a very intentional decision.
