Good morning, friends!
It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day. I thought we would start with a little discussion of land acknowledgments. I’ve been thinking a great deal about this as I head back into classrooms this week.
In a talk I attended recently, Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, explained that Indigenous people do not believe that the land belongs to them; rather, they believe that they belong to the land.
This sense of place and belonging is one that some of us also feel, to some degree.
I have lived in Brooklyn for most of my life; although I was not born here, my mother was born here and so was my child. It is the place where I feel a sense of home, of belonging, but not ownership, in spite of being a ‘homeowner’.
Belonging to the land confers obligations — to harvest honorably, steward, and give back to the land. I am the non-gardener in my immediate family, which always makes me feel a bit of a slacker. I do, however, take my composting very seriously.
This is a pale engagement with the land when compared to that of the people who were here first.
Learn more about the Munsee Three Sisters Medicinal Farm and their work for food sovereignty and food justice.
I recently hung an art exhibition in the lobby of the building where I live. Hanging art is one of the ways we belong to a place. All of the artists are residents of the building.
painting by John, age 4
self portrait by Adina, age 4
This is the second art exhibition I’ve organized; the first went up in the spring of 2020. At that time, I did not include a land acknowledgment, although I was already engaged with getting groups in which I was involved to recognize the importance of acknowledging the people who were here first, many of whom were forced from the land to which they belong by violence and colonization. This art exhibition includes a land acknowledgment, a sign of growth.
For non-Indigenous communities, land acknowledgment is a powerful way of showing respect and honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the land on which we work and live. Acknowledgment is a simple way of resisting the erasure of Indigenous histories and working towards honoring and inviting the truth.
Education is about honoring the truth and using it to make sense of our lives. If my teaching residency was more than six sessions, I would want my students to do the research to craft their own acknowledgement.
We must begin somewhere, though. Here’s the land acknowledgment my new students and I will read together and discuss this week:
We who study and work at Middle School 224 recognize that this building is on unceded land — Lenapehoking or the Land of the Lenape. We gratefully acknowledge the Lenape people on whose ancestral homelands we stand, as well as the diverse and vibrant Indigenous people who live in New York City today.
New York City, the oldest city in the US, also has the nation’s largest urban Indigenous population.
If you can trek to Randall’s Island this morning, join a celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day that is open to the public.
According to the 2020 US census, the Indigenous population has increased dramatically in the last ten years and now accounts for 2.9 percent of the US population. To give you a sense of scale, the American Jewish population, including “Jews of no religion” — who say they are atheist, agnostic or have no religion in particular, but have some Jewish identity and upbringing — make up about 2.4 percent of the nation’s population.
Please sign this petition to New York City Mayor's Office, New York City Council, and the State of New York to call for recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day!
One of the best ways to celebrate Indigenous Peoples’ Day is to support the struggle for Indigenous rights. The passage above about why land acknowledgments are important comes from the Duwamish people’s website.
Send a letter to the president in support of restoration of Duwamish treaty rights. This is a ready-made action.
Closer to home, we can support the Peconic Land Trust, which is raising funds to acquire, restore and steward sacred Shinnecock land in the Town of Southampton.
Support the Peconic Land Trust and the people who belong to Shinnecock land.
Have a great day!
with love,
L