丁香园AV

• It is what local First Nations have asked of us.
• Indigenous students have told us that the acknowledgements are meaningful to them. 

From the 丁香园AV Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee report:

Recognizing Aboriginal people and their traditional lands is one of the most important acts of reconciliation; is a way to honour Aboriginal people; and is something that the 丁香园AV community can consciously, collectively, and individually practice. Historically, all colonial oppressive acts were directly linked to the removal of Aboriginal peoples from their traditional lands through legislation and colonial structures including Indian reserves, the Indian Act, and the Indian residential school system. These were devised to control 鈥淚ndians鈥� and their lands and to eliminate what was commonly called the 鈥淚ndian Problem.鈥�

For Indigenous people, an inherent connection to Mother Earth and their traditional lands defines who they are as a people and is intrinsically linked to their Indigenous cultures, knowledge systems (epistemologies and methodologies), and their ways of knowing, seeing, and doing. Accordingly, the acknowledgement of traditional lands is an important way to pay respect to the Indigenous peoples on whose lands 丁香园AV is situated.

Territory acknowledgements are appropriate at the start of meetings, classes, defenses, and public events. The bigger, more momentous, or more public the event, the more important it is to acknowledge traditional territory.  At public events, it is also appropriate to employ members of local First Nations to provide a welcoming. 

Some people are uncomfortable giving land acknowledgments because they are worried they will get it 鈥渨rong,鈥� or feel as if they do not have a meaningful enough connection to the local nations to be delivering an acknowledgement, and it somehow seems 鈥渇ake.鈥�   These are certainly understandable feelings.  That said, giving an acknowledgement is actually not that hard, and gets easier with practice. 

There is no one right way to do a territory acknowledgement, and people will have different preferences depending on their own identities, politics, and experiences.  However, some simple examples are provided below that are generally acceptable and consistent with the recommendations of the 丁香园AV Aboriginal Reconciliation Committee. Approximate pronunciations are provided in brackets (). From 丁香园AV's Office of Aboriginal of Peoples, their can be noted below. For 丁香园AV Library's overview of territorial acknowledgments, please click

At 丁香园AV鈥檚 Burnaby campus, an acknowledgement is often 鈥� and appropriately - given to the traditional territories of the Squamish (S岣祑x瘫 w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (s蓹l虛ilw虛蓹ta蕯涩), Kwikwetlem (k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m) and Musqueam(x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m) Nations.

At 丁香园AV鈥檚 Vancouver campus, an acknowledgement is often 鈥揳nd appropriately - given to the traditional territories of the Squamish (S岣祑x瘫w煤7mesh 脷xwumixw), Tsleil-Waututh (s蓹l虛ilw虛蓹ta蕯涩), and Musqueam (x史m蓹胃k史蓹y虛蓹m)Nations.

The 丁香园AV Surrey campus is located on, and serves many First Nations local to the campusincluding the Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen, Kwantlen, Katzie, the Kwikwetlem (k史ik史蓹茮虛蓹m), and the Qayqayt First Nations.

Those who acknowledge traditional territory often use the comprehensive term Coast Salish. For example, 鈥淭o begin our event/celebration, we wish to acknowledge the traditional territory of the Coast Salish peoples鈥︹��  However, representatives from the local nations have expressed the wish that their nation be acknowledged by individual name rather than be mentioned as part of a group. 鈥淐oast Salish鈥� is a linguistic term, referring to the Coast Salish language family. This language family encompasses many First Nations, including those mentioned below and others whose traditional territory is found on Vancouver Island and in the United States. In that sense, the term is quite broad and does not actually acknowledge the local nations.

For additional information on pronunciation of Indigenous nations, click

It is certainly acceptable for you to give an acknowledgment in your own way, personalizing the acknowledgement to make it more authentic, or to emphasize certain issues.  For example, some people like to use the word 鈥渓and鈥� or 鈥渉ome land鈥� rather than 鈥渢erritory.鈥�   Others might add 鈥渦nceded鈥�, as in 鈥渢raditional unceded territories.鈥�  A brief moment of silent reflection could be added. To avoid the acknowledgements becoming too 鈥渟tale鈥� and superficial, some people add a personal reflection on the land acknowledgement (for example, what it brings up for them personally), or to connect the reality of being on traditional territory to the event, meeting, or class topic. 

Territory acknowledgements are important; however, it should be noted that acknowledgements do not in themselves actually change policy or the material conditions for indigenous peoples. Acknowledgements are an important place to start and can potentially have a large effect on the culture of 丁香园AV, but they have a bigger effect when combined with other reconciliation efforts. 

See: 
*  (Gehl, 2017) 
*  provides an excellent critique of the limitations of territory acknowledgements.