New resources available to create personalized land acknowledgments at TMU
TMU community members are now encouraged to create their own land acknowledgments, and can read below for resources on how to do so.
New resources approved by the Indigenous Education Council are available for TMU community members to develop personalized land acknowledgments that reflect an individual’s commitment to reconciliation.
If you regularly host gatherings or events on campus and have used the standardized land acknowledgment, you can now visit the Indigenous TMU website for information, guidance and resources to develop a unique, authentic and usage-specific acknowledgment through research, reflection and actionable commitments.
The new approach is a response to the university’s Standing Strong Task Force report of 2021. The report recommended a new university-wide protocol for land acknowledgments and development of educational materials and opportunities for all community members to learn about land acknowledgments.
"Crafting meaningful land acknowledgments is an essential starting point for settlers as we uphold our collective, lifelong commitment to Truth and Reconciliation,” says Tanya (Toni) De Mello, vice-president, equity and community inclusion.
“Land acknowledgments alone aren't enough; true, reciprocal relationships with Indigenous Peoples require building trust, taking meaningful actions and showing up with accountability—more than just words.”
Learning from four pillars of land acknowledgments
To support the TMU community in developing land acknowledgments that reflect an individual’s commitment to Truth and Reconciliation, Amy Desjarlais, lead facilitator, Rebirthed Teachings, in the Office of the Vice-President, Equity and Community Inclusion, has shared four pillars of land acknowledgments.
- Know the treaties and agreements.
- Know the stories of the land: How did the practice of land acknowledgements start? (Kanesatake Resistance, 1990).
- Know and understand the nations of people that are on the land you are on. Learn how to pronounce the names.
- Know how you connect to the land. What are your responsibilities? How do you benefit?
“The four pillars are signposts; they guide you to the knowledge,” says Desjarlais. “It is up to the individual to understand each element and explore each intimately."
"Land acknowledgments become something you live, and are no longer about saying the ‘right’ thing," Desjarlais continued. "Instead, they come from your heart and are about expressing those truths, being respectful to the land, its inhabitants and stories, and sharing what you understand your responsibilities to be."
Resources include materials that will help community members address the four pillars in land acknowledgments, including information on how to discover more about traditional territories and treaties in your region, as well as a six-step process for creating a personalized land acknowledgment, FAQs and additional resources for further education.
Looking at the history of TMU’s land acknowledgment
In 2014, TMU adopted a standardized land acknowledgment statement and practice. The statement, written by members of the Indigenous Education Council (Formerly the Aboriginal Education Council) at the request of the university president, was intended to be shared at the start of events and gatherings on campus.
The practice was widely adopted and was used across events, meetings, classes and in written format to raise awareness about the history of the land, the treaties of which we are a part, and our responsibilities towards Truth and Reconciliation.
For some community members, TMU is the first place they’ve had exposure to land acknowledgments, launching their educational journey to understand the history and present-day impact of colonization in Canada.
Since its adoption, as a response to feedback from community members, including those involved in the original language drafting, TMU decided to evolve the practice of acknowledging the land on which we study, work and live.
“The really important aspect of a land acknowledgment for me, is this sort of obligation that comes on the back end of it,” says Hayden King, professor and advisor to the dean of Arts on Indigenous Education, and executive director of the Yellowhead Institute. ‘It's one thing to say, ‘we're on the territory of the Mississaugas or the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee,’ it's another thing to say, ‘We're on the territory of the Anishinaabek and the Haudenosaunee and here's what that compels me to do.’”
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