{"id":34562,"date":"2024-05-16T16:41:20","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T20:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=34562"},"modified":"2024-05-23T17:21:13","modified_gmt":"2024-05-23T21:21:13","slug":"professor-challenges-ideas-of-land-acknowledgements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/professor-challenges-ideas-of-land-acknowledgements\/","title":{"rendered":"Professor challenges ideas of land acknowledgements"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It\u2019s time to re-imagine the relationships between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous settlers, rather than simply walking towards \u201creconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the view of Dr. Ruth Green, an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work at York University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her presentation \u201cIt Is More than a Land Acknowledgement\u201d, which was hosted by the Aurora Public Library as part of their Indigenous Teachings program, Dr. Green said she didn\u2019t believe there was \u201canything to reconcile\u201d and, instead, it\u2019s more important to focus on work to build relationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going back to any previous good relationship,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the start of her presentation, Dr. Green asked participants to think about the Town of Aurora\u2019s Land Acknowledgement, a document which can be found etched on wood near the entrance of many public buildings, including arenas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Town of Aurora acknowledges that the Anishinaabe lands on which we live and work are the traditional and treaty territory of the Chippewas of Georgina Island, as well as many other Nations whose presence here continues to this day. As the closest First Nation community to Aurora, we recognize the special relationship the Chippewas have with the lands and waters of this territory. They are the water protectors and environmental stewards of these lands, and as a municipality we join them in these responsibilities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe further acknowledge that Aurora is part of the treaty lands of the Mississaugas and Chippewas, recognized through Treaty #13 as well as the Williams Treaties of 1923.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA shared understanding of the rich cultural heritage that has existed for centuries, and how our collective past brought us to where we are today, will help us walk together into a better future.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat do you actually hear? Do you hear the layers of history? Do you hear the distinction between the Chippewas of Georgina Island and the other Mississaugas?\u201d Dr. Green asked. \u201cDo you understand Treaty 13? Can you sit with this land acknowledgement and take it apart? That is what it is to be really learning a land acknowledgement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green said in many instances Indigenous people are asked by organizations to pen land acknowledgements, which are often very personal exercises involving significant “emotional labour\u201d and this can hinder true understanding by others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you sit with this and do some research \u2013 we\u2019re in a library, after all \u2013 pull it apart and learn,\u201d she continued. \u201cWho are the Chippewas of Georgina Island? How did they get there? Did you know about Snake Island and how that was their original space and then they were moved? These are important things to know so when you say, \u2018We acknowledge the \u2018special relationships that the Chippewas have with the lands and waters of this territory.\u2019 \u2018Special relationships\u2019 does not explain the depth of being removed from your territory, forced into another space but knowing where your home actually is. That\u2019s a special relationship, but that sounds really nice compared to what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing the line of gratitude towards Indigenous people \u201csharing their lands with us,\u201d Green added, \u201cThe last time I checked, colonization was not asked, it was just done. It was not our sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going forward in delivering land acknowledgements, or Dr. Green\u2019s preferred \u201cSolidary Statements,\u201d it\u2019s important for people to acknowledge they are learning and have a continued commitment to learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always going to be a learner and there are so many things we don\u2019t know. Ignorance is not our stumbling block, intolerance is. Ignorance you can all work towards removing it, but when you do, acknowledge who taught you something,\u201d she said, asking people to name those teachers, particularly elders. \u201cSpeak with sincerity. The first time you do a land acknowledgement that is personal, it might be emotional. That\u2019s okay. My Anishinaabe siblings, we have four quadrants in ourselves \u2013 the physical, the spiritual, our mental and emotional. If we do not take care of all of them, we\u2019re not going to be safe or healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Brock Weir
Editor
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

APL event asks for \u201cre-imagining\u201d of relationships rather than \u201creconciliation\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":34563,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34562","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2024-05-16-02.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-8Zs","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-25 06:56:03","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34562","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34562"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34562\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}