Let’s talk about native land acknowledgment on websites.
You’re probably here because you’ve thought about writing a land acknowledgement on your website but you’re wondering if it’s performative and if having a statement on your website is enough.
Or you could be someone who does not have native roots and has written one, yet still have questions about “how to right your wrongs?”
When I first added land acknowledgement on my website, I constantly wondered if it was the ‘right’ thing to do and I was left wondering if there is anything else that I can do to actively participate with action and beyond statement.
Native-land.ca was extremely useful in helping me discover the land I am living in before white settlers colonized the US. And yet, I can’t help but think and feel that just by naming the indigenous land was not the full picture.
In my search for answers, I came across an article titled “Eight calls to action in place of land acknowledgement” written by an organization called Ecotrust, a nonprofit organization based in Portland, Oregon, working to create social, economic, and environmental benefit who has worked with and alongside Indigenous communities from Alaska to California since 1991.
In this article, they said “Recently land acknowledgments have come under criticism in many corners of the Indigenous world, calling them performative, token gestures, and therefore largely meaningless. Others have said land acknowledgements fail to acknowledge the deep injustices Native people have endured over centuries.”
So, If you need a little nudge or want to know how do I as a non-native acknowledge the land I am on with respect, here are some of my favorite suggestions that I have learned over time from conversations I have had with indigenous people in my home country and from reading articles written by indigenous-led and centered organizations:
3 ideas to go from land acknowledgement into action:
01. Give landback to tribes.
(Source: Ecotrust)
I don’t think this needs any more explanation. In this article, there are 7 more calls to action by their staff, especially native staff on actions you can take.
02. Keep it in present tense.
(Source: CBC, Canada)
According to Nahanee Creative, a social change agency who centers indigenous teachings, “keeping it past tense is a tool of colonialism.”
When dispossession is in past tense, it minimizes the traumatic and painful experience, resulting in the death and displacement of countless individuals.
03. Reflect on your relationship with the land.
(Source: TEDx)
“Good intentioned people just get nervous.” Dang, I felt this.
But, according to Shelly Reys, first women of Djirribul and CEO of Arilla Consulting - it’s important to be brave and make it your own. She suggested for people who is not on their traditional lands to find the connection between the stories of people who are natives from the land and your connection to the land you are currently living in.
Prior to learning about this, my statement has been:
‘I live on Catawba and Sugeree lands, now known as Charlotte, North Carolina.’
For now, I am learning to bravely say:
I’m Raudhah and right now I work and live about a 10 minute walk from the center of the city in Charlotte, NC where for thousands of years are the two main Indian routes that led to the Catawba River, where I usually kayak. Every time I do, I choose to remember the people of the River, the Catawba people whose families played in the river and lakes, hunted and fished by the riverbanks. And it reminds me of my ancestors, the Bugis people, a seafaring society remarkable for its recognition of five separate genders. So today I pause and remember how much they’ve love and tended to the land that I now get to fight and love for.
So, after writing these words, I realized that it has to come from a place of radical honesty. Heck, people can tell if you’re just mouthing things. But if you’re reading this, you most likely care about your words and the real issues facing Indigenous people. If you’re curious about how to start this reflective process, I’ve put together a tiny yet mighty and free guide to help you move through this ever growing branding journey.
