Since attending Juniper and Salal’s seminar earlier this week (sorry I had to leave early) I’ve been thinking about some of the questions I was presented with at the Rematriation workshop regarding the construction of a land acknowledgement.
Yahlnaaw, the workshop’s facilitator, emphasized the importance of first locating ourselves. Yahlnaaw emphasized that who we are is where we come from and offered us several reflective questions (the ones I remember are added below for your own reflective purposes).
To properly orient to and acknowledge these lands on which we currently live, we must first acknowledge where/who we came from (geographically, culturally, linguistically etc).
Thank you, Meredith, for offering a beautiful example of locating oneself as you shared Juniper and Salal’s acknowledgement. Not only does this practice help create a rich land acknowledgment, but when shared, it also creates and strengthens our connections to one another – deepening understanding.
- Who are you?
- Why do you do the work you do?
- Where do you come from?
- Who are your ancestors? What language(s) did they speak?
- Where do you hope to go and why?
- Who supports you?
- What brought you to this land?
- What are your intersecting identities? (consider race, class, gender identity, sexual identity, ethnicity, religion)
Here’s what I’ve personally put together so far.
I am Kelcie Lee Yaromy. My middle name was inspired by my Irish maternal grandmother, Rosemary Leona. My paternal grandparents are Dorothy and Stanley who gifted me with Polish, Greek, and Ukrainian heritage. I was born on the traditional lands of Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, Haudenosaunee and the Mississaugas of the Credit River. After my grandmother and several of my mom’s siblings moved to this island my family followed. I received the bulk of my education on the traditional lands of the Snuneymuxw peoples. While studying psychology at VIU I learned how the first seven years of life set the stage for lifelong mental health. After graduation, I moved to W̱SÁNEĆ and Lekwungen land (drawn by the opportunity to live with my sister – my favourite person – once again) and shifted my focus to early childhood education.
I look forward to sharing more and using this excercise to help inform Acorn Place’s land acknowledgement.
I spent hours deciding on my approach to the sharing of the Salal Land acknowledgement. I wanted to authentically ensure that I clearly stated that I grew up on lands that should not have belonged to my family. Kelcie, thank you for sharing how you, personally, locate yourself. It is very clear, and your dedication to the historical truth is evident.
Lots to consider here Kelcie and Meredith. Thank you!
If anyone is interested, here’s a link to an animated short (5:37min) video called Land Acknowledgements and Why They Matter: https://vimeo.com/517181293
(Guelph Land Acknowledgement Vide, 2021)
“Land acknowledgements are not meant to instill guilt or to assert treaty rights. They are not lip services to institutional or governmental mandates. Nor are they meant to simply convey sympathies or regret. They are a way to for us all to feel more connected to the land that sustains us. They are a reminder of our responsibilities to the land and of our relationship to the natural world. They are meant to push us to educate ourselves about the history that has shaped our lives here, so we can begin rebuilding relationships from a place of honesty.
Land Acknowledgements are meant to remind us that Canada was founded neither on pristine wilderness nor on empty space; rather it was built alongside and then on top of Indigenous nations that existed since time immemorial. And also to remind us that those nations continue to exist and continue to have responsibilities to the land and inherent rights to determine their own futures and practice their own languages and cultures without discrimination or interference from other forms of governments.”
While the video is written/spoken/animated from a different territorial perspective (Anishinaabe) than the ones we live and work on, it offers a good reminder of the importance of being conscious of ‘who is being centred and why’ when acknowledging land/Indigenous place-based connection(s) and jurisdiction. Your words also reminded me of UVic Indigenous Education Professor, Onowa McIvor’s, words about the importance of speaking from the heart.
Thanks again,
Narda
Thank you Kelcie for sharing your post – love learning more about you! I’m very sorry that I was unable to attend the workshop put on by Juniper and Salal – ugh – just couldn’t swing it on the rescheduled date.
Land acknowledgments -I, along with David and Taeko were invited to read UVIC’s at our last ProD day, which I was fine to do, despite my slight unease. I didn’t have the time to try and craft one of my own, although the thought crossed my mind.
Kelcie, reading your blog post has given me new inspiration – thank you! Half way through May – Asian Heritage Month, and I will begin to work on one that acknowledges my Japanese heritage
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/campaigns/asian-heritage-month.html