Land Acknowledgment: A Liberatory Process
“I acknowledge I live, work and learn on the traditional unceded Ohlone/ Chochenyo lands. Even as I work to honor and repair harm caused by colonization and dominant supremacy, I acknowledge my ancestors and I have benefited from these practices and systems. To learn why I acknowledge: learn more”
Perhaps some of you reading this may have seen your friends, family, and colleagues adding land acknowledgements to email signatures, or have witnessed the places you work begin meetings with an acknowledgement. For some, hearing or witnessing land acknowledgement may be met with an activation. What is an activation? An experience in the brain-body based relationship that comes online- such as throat clenching, butterflies in the stomach, tightness, or softening - which then turns into a thought or thinking about the sensation, ultimately leading towards an interpretation or meaning-making out of the sensation, thought, or reaction. In therapy, we learn to recognize those reactions and begin to transform them into reflective responses so that they can serve you in the here and now.
But back to my land acknowledgement…many people ask WHY do it, what is the point? My response to this is first WHY NOT? Importantly, it is not as simple as why but what happens when we allow ourselves to become open and curious with how history and context inform our relationships (with self, with others, with the land). When we are curious about our history, we encounter the presence and truth of harm. Acknowledgement and knowledge of historical harm is not something to avoid, but I propose it is a pathway towards connection that ultimately leads us towards a collective empowerment and liberation. When we are aware of our connectedness, we don’t mistreat each other, instead there is a sense of shared “being” with ourselves and each other fully and wholely. Our ancestral fabric, our suffering, our joy, our truths…without the defense of avoidance but with an acknowledgement of what has shaped and led to this moment right now. For instance, when suffering arises in one of us, we tend to it because we are a part of and intertwined with each other. And there has been suffering on this land. Indigenous people were and are the target of eradication, displacement, violence and genocide. The suffering caused by colonialzation wasn’t something that just happened in the past, but it lives in the present. The systems and policies that exist today, such as the construct of reservations, the removal and illegality of indigenous spiritual practices, the trauma imposed on Indigenous peoples lives today. Land acknowledgement is one step in honoring, naming and holding accountable all of us in how we engage with and have relationships with the history of the land you stand on. And this is some of what I will attempt to explore and discuss in this post…
I spoke with a friend recently who explained to me her work place has started speaking land acknowledgments before meetings. She expressed confusion and discomfort in the act of land acknowledgement, and judged the act to be “performative” and not authentic. Of course, I was curious about her experience and general knowledge of land acknowledgments. After some unpacking, we learned together she located her “discomfort” as a knot in her stomach which translated to a thought : “why do I have to do this? Have I done something wrong?” After more discussion, we uncovered that this thought was connected to her lack of knowledge around the history of the land on which she stood. And importantly, her own discomfort in accepting her intersectional identity as a descendent of European settlers living and working on land that was stolen as a result of violent displacement, genocide, and colonization of indigenous peoples.
This conversation often STOPS here for many people. In my work, both in action and in research, I might refer the stop to one encountering a defense, or a feeling=sensation of discomfort and avoidance. Yet for my friend, we got to the root of why the conversation often stops here. So, why? Well because of our friend “shame”. We all know shame. And, we don’t always know when this friend visits us (* a more thorough conversation about shame in my next blog post, stay tuned). So yes, she encountered some shame in our conversation, and, with some awareness, she was able to acknowledge her discomfort in what she judged as a “performance” of land acknowledgement because she perceives agencies and companies are “scrambling” to keep up with a culture that is shifting towards (at least..) an acknowledgement of the intergenerational impact of colonization and oppression. She was able to name this impact - not just on the peoples and land who were the target of it - but on the impact of colonization on herself and her thinking, mind, body, and connection (or disconnection) with her own ancestral history and rituals as a white cis woman of European descent.
Whew. It’s a lot to understand isn’t it? In a culture increasingly moving towards spaces of inclusion and acknowledgement of diversity and intersectionality - many agencies and companies are struggling to figure this out. For some spaces, this is a mess. Having worked with executives in the movie industry and tech, I hear statements like this all the time, “we did a workshop on DEI and it didn’t stick…It is just a perfomance so people don’t loose their jobs…what does land acknowledgment do to change the way things are?…” Some people blame the “mess” on a lack of leadership and expertise facilitation, or reject the process of land acknowledgement because of their own judgements, blind spots, lack of experience in “brave spaces”, and deep seeded fears of what they think it means to honor and name history and harm. The mind-body impact of blame is cyclical - the blame doesn’t really take us anywhere but more blame and disconnect.
Instead of blame, what if we said yes? Yes there is a disconnect with the who we are and where we are. With how we CONNECT to ourselves and eachother. I propose, the underlying fear is “getting it wrong”, which people confuse with a deeper fear… “I am wrong”.
So I asked my friend “what if you get it wrong? Then what"?” She stopped. I saw the throat and jaw clench. She replied “Well then, I am embarrassed, I am outcasted, judged.” I followed, “well, what then?” She replied “then I am shamed, I might lose my job, I don’t know”. Oof. These are real fears. But lets take a step back. I asked her “What else is possible?”
She paused…this took awhile. “Maybe I am not wrong, maybe its ok to ‘get it wrong’”. Let me pause here and insert my human biased based on experience response to this (lol): Getting it “Wrong”…whatever it is…is legit one of the core wounds/fears most people I work with have. It is DEEEEEPLY ingrained in there, in all of us. It takes work to understand this…where and when it shows up. So, if we were to assume we all have this fear, the question is: what do we do with it?
We have some choices here don’t we? Depending on how you were conditioned as a human being - and I argue there is a a spectrum of gendered, cutural and religious-influenced conditioning around this (for another blog post) - then accepting or rejecting the possibility we might get something wrong may be stronger or less for some of us.
For my friend, she was able to access a certain amount of humility and self-compassion. She moved from fear, ie “I might get this wrong therefore I am wrong”, to “I am allowed to make mistakes, be curious, learn. If I get it wrong, being wrong doesn’t define me”.
Let’s pause right now. As you are taking a pause in reading: join me in taking three breaths and locate in yourself what you are experiencing inside right now (sensations, focus on the body). You might encounter something else if you: Allow, be curious, discover, and connect with self-compassion. You might, I suspect feel more open to this possibility.
SO, what did this conversation open up for my friend? A genuine curiosity to LEARN and UNLEARN... And that is why we are here. To be conscious and aware, to be curious, and seek to understand rather than hold tight to blame and shame - two forces that may be working against all of us unconsciously in body and mind.
So let’s talk about connection to land and people.
I have worked in and with many spaces. Spaces some people call “home”, ancestral land, occupied land, or “developed land”. Spaces that are named and unnamed. Places and spaces that hold history, story, and meaning.
My work has intersected with underserved youth in NYC, undocumented families, first gen youth, refugees, foster care youth, multifaith families, LGTBQAI communities, new moms and parents, college students, elders in stages of memory transformation, indigenous communities, formerly incarcerated people, people who have been targets of radicalized violence, veterans, business executives, tech engineers, people from all backgrounds and faiths, so many to be named . The stories and lived experiences the people I have been honored to work with have transformed and informed who I am in the world - in my own body and relationships. I have discovered many gifts in my 20 + years of this work. My experience BEING in the presence of humanity has taught me about how our history as humans is intertwined with injustice and oppression, but also with resilience, strength and thriving commitment to interconnectedness.
The spirit of interconnectedness has liberated me in many expanding and evolving ways. It has brought forth with compassion and accountability awareness of - in both mind and action -the harmful ways in which social, political, and cultural conditioning has informed the choices humans make to care, or not care, for the land and people of the places named “home”. And “home” is a layered and complex concept for some of us isn’t it? Home as a place, in a body, home in the mind, with whom and where?
One thing I have learned from the many stories I have heard over the years is that there is suffering for many in relationship to what is referred to as “home”, because many people have been displaced, eradicated, and violently removed from their home. And this exists everywhere in the world doesn’t it? Every human, no matter who your ancestors were can point to displacement in some way at some point in history. So we are in many ways left with an open wound of a crisis of belonging. Yet we can’t talk about this crisis of belonging without talking about power. There is no denying that power (economic, policy, political) is a force that perpetuates the cycle of harm. If we accept that land and people have been harmed we can find a way to connect. If one community is suffering, I too am suffering because we are interconnected. Therefore our collective liberation is intertwined, not separate.
Acknowledging how my ancestors contributed to the occupation of the land I currently stand on was the first step in liberation. The steps after that come in action and relationship to and with the land and people. It is a journey that does not end in one workshop or conversation, yet evolves with continued curiosity, humility, awareness of and softening defenses in the presence of “activation” or triggers, and importantly a gentle open heartedness.
A concept I explore in my work in both theory and practice is decolonization of the mind. And I will also add body. Many buzz baits and news throw this word “decolonization” around right now. And like many movements grounded in love and expansion of justice and truth, words can be twisted and weaponized by people in power (journalists, politicians etc) who don’t fully understand it, and/or are threatened by what they believe or “think” it means. A google search will take you to Reddit posts, articles etc. But lets get the buzz away and seek to understand rather then judge:
In Michael Yellow Bird , he has created a Conceptual Model of Decolonization, where he defines decolonization as both an event and a process:
Event – As an event, decolonization concerns reaching a level of critical consciousness, an active understanding that you are (or have been) colonized and are thus responding to life circumstances in ways that are limited, destructive, and externally controlled.
Process – As a process, decolonization means engaging in the activities of creating, restoring, and birthing. It means creating and consciously using various strategies to liberate oneself, adapt to or survive oppressive conditions; it means restoring cultural practices, thinking, beliefs, and values that were taken away or abandoned but are still relevant and necessary to survival; and it means the birthing of new ideas, thinking, technologies, and lifestyles that contribute to the advancement and empowerment of Indigenous Peoples.
It is a process - a liberatory process for ALL of us to engage with.
In to Learn & Unlearn: Anti-racism Resource Guide (posted by @saic.maffairs posted 12/7/2020) , the author outlines steps and questions to guide us in this process:
Start here…
“Ask yourself:
who are the Indigenous peoples that belong to, and have always been responsible for the Lands: You were born on, You live on, You work on, You vacation/play on.
What are my responsibilities, and what is expected of me by sovereign Indigenous Nations as a settler or displaced Indigenous visitor/guest/settler on the lands that they belong to, and that I am occupying?
If this is the first time you are thinking about this, ask yourself why? What might have led to not knowing? How does the colonial system support your ignorance, and what has caused you to not consider it.”
These questions require discomfort as pathway to expansive growth. Growth through shame and blame into empowered action-oriented accountability to our interconnectedness. When I come across people who are uncomfortable with land acknowledgement, my first question is why? What does acknowledging the land and indigenous people take away from YOU? Often people will encounter in them an experience of shame. And we can work on that - we can understand the presence of shame and learn to transform it into liberatory action. (If you are curious about this process, reach out to me…I have held many workshops and sessions about this topic)
After some shame work alongside strength-based work to rebuild a sense of safety in the here and now, most people will discover that acknowledging the land does not take away but rather it only enhances and expands connection. Acknowledging is one action that helps us continue to repair the harm… one acknowledgement and action at a time.
Now, what else? Many busy urgent minds go here next. “What is next?”
Well, there are many ways to connect. Connect to your local land history, land back, and restoration agencies exist in most cities and/or states. For example, in the Bay Area where I am situated there is The Sogorea Te Land Trust: Homepage https://sogoreate-landtrust.org/, and you can also dontate to Shuumi Land Tax.
(And -Thank you for reading. I write from the heart, and edits are secondary. )
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Resources:
For more information about liberation psychology and interconnectedness, I welcome you to check out Tara Brach’s talk with Dan Siegel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wD0BUZMqsG0
Decolonizing Psychology
https://jspp.psychopen.eu/index.php/jspp/article/view/4851/4851.html
Citing:
Learn & Unlearn: Anti-racism Resource Guide
INTRODUCTION DECOLONIZING OUR MINDS AND ACTIONS by Waziyatawin and Michael Yellow Bird
