Jennifer's Acknowledgement

Jennifer's Acknowledgement

by Jennifer Englund -
Number of replies: 2

Hi everyone,

At this time, I am not aware of a formal statement for our campus, however, I plan to see if there is one in the works or if there is an existing statement. I went to an event recently where a statement was used, and came across one through a colleague.

I used a land acknowledgement at an event for the first time this week. Here's the excerpt of what it looked like:

https://vib.by/v/myqeXY-Pv

And here's my revised statement that I would give at a future event, after learning from everyone in the course:

I would like to begin our session by acknowledging the Dakota people and their traditional homelands where our campus now resides. I come from a place of respect and gratitude to be living, working, and learning on these beautiful lands. My ancestors came from the Scandinavian and Yugoslavic regions to the United States many years ago and are scattered across the country. For several generations, my family and I have been settlers in Minnesota, which comes from the Dakota name for this region, Mni Sota Maḳoce, or 'the land where the waters reflect the skies.' 


In reply to Jennifer Englund

Re: Jennifer's Acknowledgement

by Dianne Biin -

Thank you Jennifer for sharing your acknowledgement!  I appreciate your revised statement, wonderful situating your family connections and movements. Not sure if your institution has a native american studies department? might be a neat way to connect with them and build or strengthen your relationships?

apologies for my late reply, I've been at a conference for the past few days and my little brain is saturated at the end of the day, so processing a lot of amazing information. HASTAC 2019.

In reply to Jennifer Englund

Re: Jennifer's Acknowledgement

by Donna DesBiens -

Hi Jennifer, 

One thing I really appreciate in your acknowledgement is your inclusion of the Dakota place name for the Minnesota region and what it means.  It gave me a sense of immediate experience - sparked visual images, feeling of beauty, and intuitions of how people might live in that place. Versus only geographical location on a map.

It really brings to life the concept of how knowing traditional place names is "important to building relationships with the places where we live and teach" (Promising practice section, Step 1 Learning Materials).  You inspired me to learn more about the meaning of local place names here in Victoria and reflect on how I can integrate them in my own land acknowledgement. 

While exploring local First Nation websites, I found that place names most near where I live and work reflect the importance of relationship with the ocean. In a bigger perspective, I also found this Coming Home to Indigenous Place Names map by the Canadian-American Center at the University of Maine - great to see another neighbourly learning collaboration there :-) 

I also appreciate how you have been able to capture so much meaning in such a brief statement as we are so often constrained by time in contexts like workshop openings.