If you have ever attended a formal event on a Canadian university or college campus, you may remember hearing a speaker deliver a land acknowledgement prior to the commencement of the event or ceremony.
A land acknowledgement is a formal statement that is often given before an event, reminding participants that they are on traditional Indigenous territory.
Carleton University and the Charlatan offices are located on the traditional, unceded territory of the Algonquin nation.
Land acknowledgements are important and necessary because they remind Canadians—particularly non-Indigenous settlers—to be accountable for their actions on it.
These acknowledgements are important and necessary because they recognize that Indigenous people are the original inhabitants of this land and show respect for the traditional keepers of the land we are currently inhabiting.
The relationship many Indigenous peoples have with their traditional territory was not respected throughout Canada’s history. Recognizing the presence of Indigenous peoples on this land as ongoing, rather than a thing of the past, is an important step towards mending relationships with Indigenous people.
