A new report by Indigenous historian and writer Robert Jago argues for a Coast Salish history of land acknowledgements in North America, challenging common assumptions about Australian origins.
In The Origin and Meaning of Land Acknowledgements, Jago draws from a wide variety of sources to explore how the practices came to become commonplace among public and private events across Canada.
The BC Humanist Association commissioned the report after documenting the prevalence of the practice in municipal council meetings across Canada.
"Through The Saguenay Project, we are seeing the majority of council meetings - 62% in Ontario and 71% in British Columbia - open with a land acknowledgement," said Ian Bushfield, BCHA Executive Director. "We asked Robert Jago to helps us understand the history and context of these practices."
The report concludes with recommendations on how to draft an inclusive land acknowledgement, consistent with Coast Salish law, that avoids misappropriating it.
For land acknowledgements to function as intended, they must follow Coast Salish practice and adhere to the structure that emerged from ch’ech’itsul code.
The proper formula has three parts:
- Introduce and situate the speaker
- Acknowledge the stewards of the territory
- Explain the intent behind the event
An example:
My name is Jane Doe, I am the Dean of the Arts Department here at X University. I was born and raised in Vancouver. I want to begin today by acknowledging that we are hosting today’s conference in the territory of the Musqueam, Tsleil-Waututh, and Squamish Nations.
The acknowledgement should not mention that land was “stolen.” It should not dwell on personal feelings. The land has not been stolen—at least not in BC where land acknowledgements first took root. The situation is that sovereignty is contested, which is a different legal and political reality.