How Indigenous land acknowledgements can miss the point
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Land acknowledgements — the recognition that Indigenous people were the original inhabitants of American land — have become more common among academics, nonprofits, companies, celebrities and even in social media bios.
Why it matters: The well-meaning attempts to educate non-Indigenous people can fail to reach their desired impact if they aren't paired with more concrete action to support Indigenous communities.
- "When you make an acknowledgement, it can't just be one and done," Lydia Jennings, a citizen of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and soil scientist, told Axios.
- "It has to be this reminder of having ongoing action — of being a steward, continuing to do things, of making space, making [systemic] change."
The big picture: "After millennia of Native history, and centuries of displacement and dispossession, acknowledging original Indigenous inhabitants is complex," per the National Museum of the American Indian.
- "Many places in the Americas have been home to different Native Nations over time, and many Indigenous people no longer live on lands to which they have ancestral ties."
State of play: Land acknowledgments are mainstream in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. While they're not new in the U.S., America's reckoning with race in 2020 prompted more institutions to adopt them, Jennings said. A few of those include:
- Episcopal congregations in Maine recognize the Wabanaki people.
- The South Dakota Democratic Party recognizes the state as Oceti Sakowin land.
- The Lincoln Community Playhouse in Nebraska recognizes the "past, present and future homelands of the Pawnee, Oto-Missouria, Omaha and Kansa peoples."
Friction point: Many universities, which have often spearheaded diversity, equity and inclusion measures, have adopted land acknowledgement statements. But they should also be paired with funding to help Indigenous students and hire Indigenous faculty, Jennings said.
- In her work with the resource extraction industry, Jennings said she has seen land acknowledgements be "misappropriated and misaligned" when used as "a backsplash to make it look like a project is OK to move forward."
Between the lines: The phrasing of a land acknowledgement can sometimes put Indigenous people in the context of history, rather than in the present, said Michaela Madrid, the program director at Native Governance Center and a citizen of Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. This can fuel harmful stereotypes.
- "As a Native person, it can feel kind of awkward during these land acknowledgments," Madrid said. "We know that this is our land and that it was stolen."
The bottom line: "The point and the power of land acknowledgement is that it does serve as a powerful reminder that Native folks are still here," Madrid said.
- "But it should be a reminder that our contemporary needs and issues should also be considered."
Go deeper: Denver Art Museum will commemorate its Indigenous arts collection
