Land acknowledgments have become more common over the years. Acknowledging the story of the land that we now occupy and the people who inhabited it long before the time of conquest is critical to understanding that we all are one people today.
The tendency for dominant cultures to eradicate the “other” and to steal their resources and plunder their culture is not new. What is new is the push back that we are witnessing, as People emerge resilient and determined to be counted in.
And that push back is not really new, but technology and travel have allowed for greater perspectives to take hold.
The dominant culture is being called out on everything. From lies told in history books, to broken treaties, to the ignorant lumping of all tribes as one, we’re being confronted to learn the truth.
And while we may be learning facts, we’re still far from discovering our humanity.
I often think about how different our lives would be if the early colonizers had recognized the humanity of the Native People they encountered. If instead of imposing the patriarchal and capitalistic paradigms, we could have explored the world anew – and glimpsed it through the eyes of our Native brethren. Instead of being bent on usurping the resources we could have learned from the ones who had lived here the longest. We could have maintained the garden. We could have lived in peace.
To free our selves from dominant thinking and to honor the earth with respect and deference would be the greatest land acknowledgment. To recognize the sacred and temporal existence of the land would give us all a second chance.
It’s never too late to undo what has been done.
The Earth can heal and so can we.
let kindness win 
I’ve often thought about that early colonization, too – and how much better it could have been to learn from those who were here first. ….rather than exploiting for material gain. Do all critters honor the boundaries of other critters? Do bees raid other bees hives to gather honey they haven’t collected? …..Is this a humanoid characteristic – this greed – to want to take more and more and expand and colonize. and why do some humans want this and others don’t. I had some Puritan Miners who arrived in Connecticut in the 1600’s – wanting to trade with indigenous folks & learn their languages – so they went out to live in their villages. – Probably their initial motive wasn’t greed as much as spreading their view of the word of God, acting as missionaries. Such an interesting blog today, Dena – THANKS!
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Hey Judy, no critters don’t honor boundaries. just ask blue jays. But we are human beings and we have a higher possibility afforded us, if we can only reach for it. Too many have compromised for too long.And as far as I can tell missionaries were and reminded very complicit with power and money. Uganda is showing us this again…See you soon,
Dena
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