'We encourage people to do the research': A look at developing land acknowledgments
When Lance Cardinal was approached by the Edmonton Oilers to act as an Indigenous consultant, the Cree artist and designer knew the first thing he wanted to do was create a land acknowledgment.
Cardinal worked with the National Hockey League team and Chief Wilton Littlechild, a former commissioner for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, to come up with a video briefly describing the history of the land that the club's downtown arena sits on.
In a pre-recorded video, Littlechild delivered the team's first land acknowledgment at its home opening game Oct. 13.
“As chief, I welcome you here to Treaty 6 territory. This land has been the traditional region for homelands of the Metis people of Alberta, the Inuit and ancestral territory of the Cree, Dene, Blackfoot, Saulteaux and Nakota Sioux people since time immemorial. The recognition of our history on this land is an act of reconciliation and we honour those who walk with us,” says Littlechild.
The video ends with Littlechild saying “kinanaskomitin,” or “thank you,” in Cree.
“It was important to me for that acknowledgment to make sure it was spoken from our perspective - from a First Nations, first person, Indigenous perspective,” Cardinal, who is from Bigstone Cree Nation in Treaty 8 territory in Alberta, said in a phone interview.
“Also talking about the different nations that lived, travelled and settled here ... those were important to have included as well.”
The multimedia land acknowledgment is to be used before every home game and is to eventually include Cree syllabics.
Discourse on the purpose and practice of land acknowledgments has recently come to the forefront in social, political and educational settings across Canada.
The Manitoba government last month announced a consultation committee was being formed to help develop an acknowledgment to be used in the legislature.
Loretta Ross sees that as a positive move as long as it's done with sincerity and involves Indigenous people.
Ross has been Manitoba's treaty commissioner since 2017. Her office hasn't been asked to assist, but she said it gets two to three requests each week from groups asking for help developing land acknowledgments.
“We encourage people to do the research required to develop their own, and I think it's worked. People have taken the time to learn more about what they want to say,” she said.
Ross said using acknowledgments may give some people a sense that they are doing something tangible in moving toward reconciliation. But those efforts cannot begin and end with land recognition, she said.
While some governments are embracing the practice, at least one has reconsidered it.
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is facing growing criticism about a recent government policy that its employees stop making territorial or title acknowledgments. It says employees can make reference to ancestral territory, but not use terms like “unceded” and “unsurrendered.”
The province's attorney general has cited a land-title claim, filed by Wolastoqey chiefs last year, as the reason for the policy. The chiefs have criticized the directive.
Leaked emails show that opposition is also coming from within cabinet. Two ministers wrote to the premier Oct. 15 complaining that the policy is causing unnecessary conflict and “creates the impression of a government intentionally reinforcing racist behaviour.”
Christina Gray is an associate with JFK Law Corp. based in Prince Rupert, B.C. She is a Ts'msyen citizen from Lax Kw'alaams in B.C. and a Dene from Treaty 8 territory in the Northwest Territories.
She isn't involved in the New Brunswick case, but said the policy appears “very defensive.”
“I don't know how many public servants there are, but it's a very interesting approach in a very small province.”
She believes there is a place for land acknowledgments if they move beyond symbolic gestures. One way to do that is to include Indigenous languages like Cardinal did with the Oilers, she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2021.
- With files from Kevin Bissett in Fredericton
This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Air traveller complaints to Canadian Transportation Agency hit new high
The Canadian Transportation Agency has hit a record high of more than 71,000 complaints in a backlog. The quasi-judicial regulator and tribunal tasked with settling disputes between customers and the airlines says the backlog is growing because the number of incoming complaints keeps increasing.
LIVE @ 1:15 PT B.C. premier to give announcement related to public drug use
B.C.'s premier is scheduled to give an update Friday about public drug use in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
AFN chief says Air Canada offered a 15% discount after her headdress was mishandled
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief complained to Air Canada about how staffers treated her and her ceremonial headdress on a flight this week, she says the airline responded by offering a 15 per cent discount on her next flight.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid says he has Bell's palsy
Philadelphia 76ers All-Star centre Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell’s palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.