Making a land acknowledgment is a small but important first step in the reconciliation process between Canada’s Indigenous people and those who came later. As we move further into the 21st century and place so much emphasis on welcoming recent newcomers to our country, it’s more important than ever to look back and acknowledge the early atrocities that we committed against our nation’s original inhabitants.
Calgary Queer Arts Society acknowledges Moh’kinsstis, the lands and oral practices of the Blackfoot Confederacy: Siksika, Kainai, and Piikani Nations; the îethka Nakoda Nations: Chiniki, Bearspaw, and Goodstoney; and the Tsuut’ina Nation. We also recognize this territory as home to the Otipemisiwak Métis Government, Districts 5 and 6. Finally, we acknowledge all nations, genders and spirits who live, work, and play across Turtle Island.
We are only the latest to live, create and gather here, and so it is only right that we should acknowledge those who have come before us; their feasts and family gatherings, art, music, dance, storytelling and ceremony, that have been happening right here, on this land, for more generations than any of us can count.
As we enter and care for the relationships made possible through our work, we see every gathering as an opportunity to engage and walk a path of reconciliation; in doing so, we hope to build connections based on the truths of this land; leading to a culture of belonging, respect, and shared creativity.
What Is a Land Acknowledgment?
Why Do We Acknowledge the Land?
Making a statement like the one above is known as acknowledging traditional Indigenous territories, or a land acknowledgement. By acknowledging the traditional territories of local Indigenous people (the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and their descendants, we are recognizing a few important things about the lands we get to live, work and play on.
What Is Treaty 7?
1. We recognize the signing of Treaty 7, an agreement between the British Crown and the Indigenous peoples living in the area, that established the following:
An area of land for the local Indigenous people to live on;
Annual payments and provisions in exchange for the rest of their land (enabling European settlement);
Continued hunting and trapping rights on traditional Indigenous territories.
2. We recognize the continued right of Indigenous peoples to their traditional lands and their right to future prosperity.
1. If we are not Indigenous and from this territory then we are newcomers, whether our families have lived here for months or for a century. At some point, our families immigrated here and began new lives in a new land, Canada. Did you know that Canada was already occupied by independently thriving Indigenous societies? In fact, the land around Calgary has been occupied by Indigenous people for over 10,000 years. With each wave of settlement, many Indigenous peoples were displaced from their traditional lands and ways of life. This consequently began a chain of atrocities, the effects of which persist today.
2. As newcomers, we recognize the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples of Canada as the traditional stewards of this land. Additionally, we recognize their ancestral ways of life and their ties to the land. We also recognize that settlers forcibly disrupted those ways of life to the benefit of their descendants, and we all continue to be impacted by their acts of genocide against the Indigenous peoples across Turtle Island.
* This information comes from The Immigrant Education Society Website. We sincerely thank them for providing such important and thoughtful information regarding Land Acknowledgement in Alberta. For more information visit their website.
