Indigenous Resources

St. Clair College would like to recognize and acknowledge that it sits on the Three Fires confederacy’s traditional territory of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi nations. We would also like to acknowledge the many other tribes and Indigenous nations that call this beautiful land home.

We give thanks to the land and surrounding Water for sustaining us.

You can download a full version of the Land Acknowledgement Guide, provided by St. Clair College Indigenous Services.

You can also visit the Indigenous Services webpage.

The goal of this Land Acknowledgement is to acknowledge the First Peoples on whose traditional lands we work and live since time immemorial.

In an effort to respect and recognize the First Peoples of the lands upon which we sit, Traditional land acknowledgments often take place at the beginning of social gatherings, conferences or meetings, or at the commencement of assemblies and presentations.

At St. Clair College, we acknowledge that respect and recognition are essential elements to establishing and maintaining respectful relationships. These relationships are key toward reconciliation, a process to which St. Clair College is committed.

What are Traditional Land Acknowledgements?

Traditional Land Acknowledgements are Indigenous protocols used to show respect and recognition of the First Peoples presence both historically and presently, and to their traditional territories.

Why Do We Acknowledge The Land?

Land Acknowledgements are meant to express appreciation and gratitude to the First Peoples and to recognize the traditional territories of a place.

When do we Acknowledge The Land?

Land Acknowledgements are often spoken at the beginning of an event or gathering, or written at the beginning of a publication.

How can I make the Land Acknowledgement meaningful?

Land Acknowledgements are not scripts but rather a reflection process. You are encouraged to go off script and reflect on what the words mean to you.

This collection of resources provides further information in the form of guides, criticism, and tools about Land Acknowledgements.

• 'I regret it': Hayden King on writing Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement

  Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer and educator at Ryerson University, discusses in a 15 interview with Roseanne Deerchild on the CBC Radio program Unreserved why he regrets helping to write Ryerson University’s territorial acknowledgement.
• Beyond territorial acknowledgments

  This is a blog post by Métis writer âpihtawikosisân (also known as Chealse Vowel) discusses the use of land acknowledgements.
• Guidance on Traditional Land Acknowledgement Statements

  The Association of Municipalities Ontario (AMO), in a post on the Indigenous Relations page, provide background information on the importance of traditional acknowledgement statements and offer tips for crafting a meaningful and respective statement acknowledging the territorial lands of the municipalities and communities. This resource has been developed by the AMO’s Indigenous Relations Task Force. The resource provides examples as well as links to other helpful sites.
• A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment

  Native Governance Center, an American Native-led non-profit organization, created this blog post as a guide that provides information about Indigenous land acknowledges. The information in this guide was born out of a joint Indigenous land acknowledgement event with NGC and Lower Phalen Creek Project and was put together based on the responses from the panels at this event. This guide suggests starting with self-reflection and doing extensive research to learn about the people and history of the land being acknowledged.
• Know The Land Territories Campaign

  As part of their Know The Land Territories Campaign, the Laurier Students' Public Interest Research Group (LSPIRG) in this post provides information about land acknowledge, answering what, why, whose, where and how questions. Furthermore, this post provides information about the First Nations people, in particular the traditional lands that Wilfrid Laurier University campuses are situated on, as well as the importance of land acknowledgements and what can be learned from them to better understand and build relationships with the Indigenous Peoples of Canada.
• Land acknowledgements are a good first step, but there’s a lot more work to be done

  This article in Today's Parent by Selena Mills discusses the purpose land acknowledgements, and concerns of overusing them. The article provides suggestions on how we can avoid land acknowledgements becoming "background noise" and making sure they are given the respect they deserve.
• Learning the Land: Walking the talk of Indigenous Land acknowledgements

  Matthew R. Anderson in this article, published by The Conversation, discusses how it is importance for non-Indigenous Canadians to get to know First Nations people and “let our bodies learn about acknowledgement, sometimes by literally walking the talk” (Anderson, 2019, para.7). The author believes that by literally “walking across Land that Indigenous activists have drawn attention and acknowledgement” (Anderson, 2019, para. 9) for various reasons to will give non-Indigenous Canadians a new perspective and demonstrate to Indigenous peoples that we respect and “mean what [they] say about unceded and traditional territories” (para. 8).
• Native-Land: Territory Acknowledgement

  This blog post by the Indigenous not-for-profit organization Native Land Digital team provides information about and advice for creating Territory Acknowledgements.
• Questioning the usefulness of land acknowledgements

  This article published by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), discusses the usefulness of land acknowledgement as they grow in popularity. The article questions if land acknowledgements statements spoken at the beginning of meeting, events, gatherings are “useful in the reconciliation or simply platitudes meant to give the illusion of honour and respect for Indigenous land and nations” (InFocus, 2019, para. 1).
• What is the significance of acknowledging the Indigenous land we stand on?

  Ramna Shahzad, in this CBC article, discusses what land acknowledges are, their purpose and history, and why their importance for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
• Xwi7xwa - Distance Research UBC Land Acknowledgement Guide

  This distance education libguide from Xwi7xwa Library at the University of British Columbia (UBC) provides detailed information and links to resources about land acknowledgements. It is a great place to start to get a better understanding of what land acknowledgements are and how to use them (specifically in a virtual meeting or gathering).