Last week, many in the United States observed the Thanksgiving holiday. Traditionally, this day is associated with giving thanks, sharing a meal with family and friends and celebrating a feast shared between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people in 1621. However, in recent years, this mythical narrative has been challenged and expanded to uncover the true events that took place. Today, many choose to observe this day as Indigenous Peoples' Day or the National Day of Mourning, as a way to honor the Native American lives and cultures lost due to colonization.
This shift in recognition signifies a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the historical and ongoing atrocities committed against Native American people. It represents a conscious attempt to rectify historical misrepresentations and to honor the contributions and sacrifices of the indigenous people. It's more than a simple change of name or attitude; it's a fundamental reconsideration of the narratives we've been told and accepted, and an active effort to seek truth and understanding.
What is your personal relationship to your own indigeneity?
This shift also prompts us to explore our own relationship with our individual indigeneity. Our thoughtful Associate Director of Data & Memberships, Lauren Benetua, gracefully teaches us that as we inhabit and interact with each other on this earth, it's crucial to recognize our roots and the land we consider home. Each one of us, no matter our background or where we live now, comes from an indigenous root. This concept of indigeneity is within all of us and is a core part of our identity. It informs how we relate to ourselves, how we understand our place in the world, and it shapes our perspectives and experiences.
It's crucial to become familiar with and explore our individual histories, to understand where we and our ancestors come from. Some of us come from long lineages with strong cultural heritage, where traditions and customs have been preserved and passed down through generations. Others might come from a mix of places that may feel a bit more fragmented due to ancestral conflicts or movements across borders. These complexities add to our individual and collective identities, and acknowledging them can help us build a fuller, more nuanced understanding of our own indigeneity.
Why are land acknowledgements important?
OF/BY/FOR ALL is at the beginning of our journey in consistently acknowledging the lands we’re calling in from, occupying, living, and working on. In this practice, we offer encouragement to keep ourselves accountable to these lands, and the indigenous peoples who steward them, past and present. Our modeling may be imperfect, but it is ever-evolving as we go along. This is not just about making performative statements, but about deepening our understanding and reflection of the concepts of land, indigeneity, and how they are not separate from one another. After all, land is native. Land is indigenous. And our relationship to it and all of our actions directly impact it.
Acknowledging Our Roots and Taking Action
So, take this moment to ask yourself: have you done any more learning about the native lands you live on? What actions are accessible for you to take to support land rematriation or to support indigenous peoples where you’re living? If you haven’t taken any action, why is that? How can you bring yourself closer to doing so, from a place of care and curiosity? There's no right or wrong way to explore these questions; the main goal is to practice awareness of your current state. Think of this as loving accountability towards yourself.
Taking time to reflect and connect to who we are and where we are, and sharing these reflections with others, provides an opportunity to examine our roles in acknowledging and respecting indigenous rights, culture, and land connections. It may prompt thoughts about our contributions to positive transformations in our communities. It could also raise questions about how we can challenge erasure, stereotypes, or misconceptions. Conversely, it may bring awareness to ways in which we may be reinforcing these very same things. How might our actions perpetuate colonial legacies?
These conversations are crucial to have with yourself, your colleagues, organization and community. To neglect them is an easy way to let colonial narratives and powers stay dominant. So, let's bring it all back to the personal. Who are we and how are we building awareness? How are we reflecting?
In these small moments of personal introspection and community discussion, we each have a unique opportunity to foster positive relationships and understanding. By embracing awareness, self-educating ourselves, and taking action to validate native land acknowledgements, we can ensure that our actions and words are not just performative statements but truly reflective of our respect and support for indigenous communities. It's about making a conscious effort to learn, to understand, and to contribute in a meaningful way.
Our collective responsibility is to reimagine and actualize a beautiful revolutionary future on these native lands where we've built our lives. This journey we are on is a shared one, and every one of us has a critical role to play. The call to action is clear and urgent: Educate yourself, seek understanding, and make meaningful contributions to indigenous communities. It's not enough to envision a better future; we must actively work towards it. How can you be part of this change? How can you support indigenous communities in a meaningful way? Let's not just create a new narrative, let's live it.
Helpful Resources
If you seek to deepen your understanding of Land Acknowledgements we encourage you to do your own research of the Indigenous Communities in your area and ways you can support them.
Here are some resources that we offer our Change Network members at OF/BY/FOR ALL:
- https://indigenouscultures.org
- https://www.patreon.com/indigenizingartsed
- https://emxaguilar.net/indigenizing-arts-ed
Learn more about local Indigenous organizations to which you can donate:
More about land acknowledgements