Land Acknowledgement

Though we are all in different places, we are all still on the land somewhere. If not for land, we would not exist. If not for others who have been stewards of the land long before us, we would not exist.

Here on Turtle Island, which is the name given to North America by the people who are Indigenous to this land, we pay special tribute and give thanks to the Ancestral Caretakers of the places we now occupy. In Chapter Three you are encouraged to locate the name of the specific nation(s) on whose land you live and work. For now, wherever you might be:

We would like to acknowledge the land each of us is presently on;
that we are guests here,
and it is our shared obligation to respect, honour, and sustain this land.

Acknowledging the territories we are on is about so much more than the land, and at the same time it is all about the land. The essence of a land acknowledgement is honouring the people and communities on Turtle Island; the knowledge, wisdom, beliefs, teachings, languages, help, support, love, care, and traditions of the many, many Ancestors who have been on this land since time immemorial. In acknowledging the traditional territories of the many Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island we are given the opportunity to welcome these traditions and ways of being into our own lives.