While learning about how the growth of America was dependent on the exploitation of the Native Americans, I was reminded of a practice that I recently learned about called land acknowledgments.
I’m sure some of you have heard about land acknowledgments before, but I was first exposed to this practice during a summer class I took at De Anza College. Before every class, we would read a statement that said something along the lines of “We respectfully acknowledge that we are learning on the traditional homeland of the Ohlone people. We offer our respect to their Elders and to all Ohlone people of the past and present.” Upon further research, I learned that the recital of similar statements is widely practiced in universities, meetings, and education settings in many different countries. The purpose of these acknowledgments is to remind ourselves of the significance of living in a post-colonial world and learn to be better stewards of the land we inhabit. While I wholly agree with this general sentiment, I also see some faults.
For starters, as we learn more and more about the history of colonialism in America, the repetitive story of white settlers earning their freedom by forcefully stripping others of theirs is reinforced. Without getting into specifics—because basically all interactions between Native Americans and white settlers were the same—it is clear that regardless of differing initial attitudes, the Native Americans were always dispossessed in the end. This narrative serves as the groundwork for people in the US to essentially apologize to the Native Americans through land acknowledgments.
I cannot speak for everyone, but I feel as though land acknowledgments serve more to make people feel better about the history of colonialism than actually aiding those who were displaced. The gestures are more symbolic than genuine and just trivialize something of greater importance in order to ease peoples’ conscience. After all, it does not make up for hundreds of years of brutality by saying “I acknowledge that we took your land and I am sorry, but also we are not actually giving it back.” Despite this, I do think that the idea behind land acknowledgments comes from a place of good intentions, it is just poorly executed. Reconciliation would involve countless things such as spreading awareness of modern issues and preserving sacred lands. Therefore, acknowledging the issue is a small first step, but I do not think it can make a difference until meaningful action follows.
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You make a compelling point that yes, people have acknowledged the use of taking over indigenous people's land to try and convey their respect for it, yet it still doesn't really do much when you think about it. I also agree that more or less, the interactions between the Indians and European settlers were always the same. I think it could also be worth looking at the in between stage of those two points in time. For instance, some colonies immediately kicked the Native Americans out while others let them keep their land for some time. Yes, the were all pushed out in the end, but for different reasons per colony. Looking into this could possibly help distinguish certain colonies motives for stating land acknowledgments. For as you also brought up, it's not efficient but could be from good intentions, it depends. For example, the Indians in Virginia got pushed out due to the people's complaints not the higher power, the same couldn't be said for Boston who saw it as the Indians weren't using the land at all.
ReplyDeleteSource:
http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/growth/text7/indianlands.pdf
I totally agree with your point that land acknowledgements do have good intentions but are not sufficient enough to actually make up for past wrongdoings by colonists. I really like how you pointed out both the positives and negatives of land acknowledgements and explain that the only way to truly atone for stripping natives of their land is to take real action. You touch upon it briefly, but I feel like it could be really interesting if you expand on what courses of action people can actually take to aid these displaced Native Americans. Should we include indigenous people in discussions of land use? Are there ways to ensure that laws made by the government on Native American land are actually implemented? I think these would be some good starting points for solutions to the problem of insincere land acknowledgements. Otherwise, this was a really interesting blog post and I learned a lot about how people view Native American land today!
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that came to mind when you mentioned this idea of land acknowledgements was the playing of the Star Spangled Banner at major events and before many sporting competitions. Just like the statements you referred to in your blog, part of the reason for singing this song is to pay tribute and "acknowledge" the sacrifices that military heroes made for the honor and protection of our country. I agree that just like the land acknowledgements, the singing of our national anthem alone, although allowing for patriotism and the recognition of the intrinsic values of our country, is not enough to repay all the sacrifices made for our "liberty and justice for all." However, unlike the services for veterinarians, after the passing of the Indian Civil Rights Act in 1968, not much has been done for the advocacy of Native American rights in the last fifty years. Given the recent statements of many presidential candidates, hopefully their words will carry more significance than the simple land acknowledgements mentioned in your blog.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.history.com/topics/native-american-history/native-american-timeline
DeleteWhile reading about this, I was interested to see how modern Native Americans actually live on a day to day life. Like do they still live traditionally? I was quite surprised to see that despite the land reservations, a majority of Indians actually live a fairly urban life and that a majority of them are also middle class. It's sad but also interesting at the same time to see how their culture has evolved to adapt to modern America. They started with their own culture of spirits, hunting, and free ownership of land when the settlers first colonized America. I think this quote really summarizes the transition of their culture to adapt to the modern age:
ReplyDelete"Indigenous people are not supposed to have money. We were never meant to. My tribes occupied our homelands consistently for 13,000 years without it, and we were rich beyond our wildest dreams. We had advanced seasonal permaculture, hunting and fishing patterns, and vast amounts of leisure time. Yet we’ve had about 150 years to change 13,000 years of subsistence lifestyle into a complete dependence on money. To us, that is an incredibly weakened state."
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/04/native-americans-stories-california
Because of the development of modern economy and life, it's almost as if they've had no choice to give up their traditions, and as a result, their life in the reservations has greatly suffered. Overall, the Natives continue to try to preserve their customs, but this will only be possible if we continue to respect their land.
It's really interesting that you make the point about how apologies and simply giving land acknowledgements is not enough. I definitely agree that stating a ten second sentence will never be able to make up for the hundred of years of brutalization and dehumanization of Native Americans. It is important to note that land acknowledgements and acknowledgements of America's past have become more prominent in the news as the California governor made history by publicly apologizing for the genocide of native populations in June, which is arguably a big step towards spreading awareness. However, as you mentioned, there needs to be more meaningful action. Recently I read an article by The Guardian discussing land reparations and how giving back the land may be a start. I mean I think that giving back the land is a confrontation of our settler colonialist roots and reversing some of history may be a first step towards deconstructing American settlerist rhetoric. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/20/california-native-americans-governor-apology-reparations