In hundreds of schools across Canada, the morning announcements start the same way, with a land acknowledgement stating that the building is located in the traditional territory of First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples (FNMI). You may have heard something similar at a civic event or fundraiser?for many non-Indigenous Canadians, it?s one of the first introductions to the idea of reconciliation.
I know my own kids hear one each morning. They are spoken by students not much older than they are, who may or may not understand what they?re saying, let alone how to correctly pronounce the names of the Indigenous people who first inhabited the land their school is on or who the Indigenous and/or FNMI peoples are that share their home with them today. When approached humbly, in authentic consultation with Indigenous people as equals, land acknowledgements can help pave the way to honouring those with whom we share this land. That means that land acknowledgements can?t just be a token gesture. To bring equality to all Canadians, we need to find ways to match those words with action.
What exactly is a land acknowledgement"

Essentially, land acknowledgements are an act of conciliation by an educator, host, keynote speaker or programmer who introduces the territorial or traditional lands. While these announcements aren?t politically mandated, they started about two years ago in response to the 94 ?calls to action? by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Howev...