Land Acknowledgements are statements meant to center the Native people(s) of a specific geographic location. The statement is meant to acknowledge the current and historical demonstrating care and respect for Native lives and their sovereignty. Different countries have their own protocols, yet it is recommended to connect directly with Native people(s) to promote and honor the words, experiences, and unique perspectives and histories of Native stakeholders, of a specific region. Below is an image of an adapted UCLA example Land Acknowledgement, shared with the Mt. SAC campus by former Mt. SAC Student, Julián Ibañez Mandujano of the Native American Inter-tribal Student Alliance.
U.S. Department of Art and Culture, #HonorNativeLand
Mt. SAC is located on Tongva lands/territories. They are the traditional caretakers of Tovaangar (the Los Angeles Basin, So. Channel Islands), what we now call home and where Mt. SAC is geographically situated. The Tongva share their lands with the Kizh, Acjachemen, Tatavian, Serrano, and Cahuillan people. The native village that was once located in Walnut was called, Pemookanga. Much respect to the Honuukvetam (Ancestors), ‘Ahiihirom (Elders) and ‘Eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging. For more information about land/territory acknowledgements read SDSU’s “What is a Land Acknowledgement.”
[Full Version] We stand upon a land that carries the footsteps of millennia of Kumeyaay people. They are a people whose traditional lifeways intertwine with a worldview of earth and sky in a community of living beings. This land is part of a relationship that has nourished, healed, protected and embraced the Kumeyaay people to the present day. It is part of a world view founded in the harmony of the cycles of the sky and balance in the forces of life. For the Kumeyaay, red and black represent the balance of those forces that provide for harmony within our bodies as well as the world around us. As students, faculty, staff and alumni of San Diego State University we acknowledge this legacy from the Kumeyaay. We promote this balance in life as we pursue our goals of knowledge and understanding. We find inspiration in the Kumeyaay spirit to open our minds and hearts. It is the legacy of the red and black. It is the land of the Kumeyaay.
[SDSU: Bird Singers and Land Acknowledgement]
(Faculty) We acknowledge that this Virtual Classroom is taking place throughout the unceded territory of California home to nearly 200 tribal nations. As we begin this event, we acknowledge and honor the original inhabitants of our various regions. A land acknowledgement is a critical step towards working with native communities to secure meaningful partnership and inclusion in the stewardship and protection of their cultural resources and homelands. Let’s take a moment to honor these ancestral grounds that we are collectively gathered upon and support the resilience and strength that all Indigenous people have shown worldwide. I am currently teaching online from my home in xxxxx which is on the traditional unceded territory of the xxxxxxxxxxxx.
(Student) We acknowledge that this Virtual Classroom is taking place throughout the unceded territory of California home to nearly 200 tribal nations. I acknowledge and honor the original inhabitants of our various regions. A land acknowledgement is a critical step towards working with native communities to secure meaningful partnership and inclusion in the stewardship and protection of their cultural resources and homelands. I recognize and honor these ancestral grounds that I reside and learn upon and support the resilience and strength that all Indigenous people have shown worldwide. I am currently learning online from my home in xxxxx which is on the traditional unceded territory of the xxxxxxxxxxxx.
Created by California Indian Culture and Sovereignty Center (CICSC). The purpose of this toolkit is to encourage all academic staff, students, administrators to acknowledge the original nations on whose land we live, learn, and work.
Created by the Native Governance Center. The guide based on content contributed during our even on moving beyond land acknowledgment on August 25, 2021. The event featured Nikki Pitre (Center for Native American Youth), Joye Braun (Indigenous Environmental Network), President Robert Larsen (Lower Sioux Community), and Michelle Vassel and David Cobb (Wiyot Honor Tax).
From the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture. Created in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.
Answers to questions about what and why, from San Diego State University's DIVISION OF STUDENT AFFAIRS AND CAMPUS DIVERSITY.
What can be done beyond a Land Acknowledgement? This guide shares some ideas. Ideally, all land and resources could be given back to the original peoples of any land.
The Land Back movement and Just Transition movements share some examples.
Share an idea? Use this Padlet to share ideas and resources for your ideas.
