This land acknowledgment is inspired by Natural Curiosity and the land acknowledgment of the Jackman Institute of Child Study at University of Toronto and is continually evolving as our understanding and context shifts. We wrote this to share our learnings and reflections and to invite others to do the same.
We want to begin with acknowledging the land, because the land is fundamental and central to our wellbeing and existence and to our activities as a forest school. We need to respect the Indigenous people who have and still do live on and care for this land and value that they have lived in accordance with nature for millennia.
We give thanks to the Indigenous people of this land and to all of the Earth, including the soil, trees, animals, birds, fish, mycelial networks, food and medicine plants, air, mountains, waters, rocks, and everything else on this Earth.
From what we know so far, the land we live and work on is the ancestral homelands of the ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East), S’atsoyaha (Yuchi), Miccosukee, and others who we do not remember because of the effects of colonialism. This land is part of Cession 42. Languages of this land include ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ Tsalagi Gawonihisdi (Cherokee), as well as others we do not remember because of colonialism. Many people in this area also speak Spanish and many other languages.
We recognize that the story we've been taught of the United States is not the whole story. We are doing more to understand the history and legacy of genocide, broken treaties, and land theft; boarding schools and missionaries that fractured individuals and communities and caused loss of language, knowledge, and culture; and the forced removed from ancestral homelands on the Trail of Tears. We are learning from the valuable wisdom and culture of our neighbors, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and their centuries of resistance and resilience. We are learning more about the history and legacy of slavery in this area.
We recognize our responsibility as educators, mentors, and community leaders to examine what we teach, how we lead, and the example we set, and how that affects the land, Indigenous, Black, and People of Color, and seven generations into the future. We aim to "embrace Indigenous values while maintaining a critical eye for cultural appropriation".
We want to begin with acknowledging the land, because the land is fundamental and central to our wellbeing and existence and to our activities as a forest school. We need to respect the Indigenous people who have and still do live on and care for this land and value that they have lived in accordance with nature for millennia.
We give thanks to the Indigenous people of this land and to all of the Earth, including the soil, trees, animals, birds, fish, mycelial networks, food and medicine plants, air, mountains, waters, rocks, and everything else on this Earth.
From what we know so far, the land we live and work on is the ancestral homelands of the ᏣᎳᎫᏪᏘᏱ Tsalaguwetiyi (Cherokee, East), S’atsoyaha (Yuchi), Miccosukee, and others who we do not remember because of the effects of colonialism. This land is part of Cession 42. Languages of this land include ᏣᎳᎩ ᎦᏬᏂᎯᏍᏗ Tsalagi Gawonihisdi (Cherokee), as well as others we do not remember because of colonialism. Many people in this area also speak Spanish and many other languages.
We recognize that the story we've been taught of the United States is not the whole story. We are doing more to understand the history and legacy of genocide, broken treaties, and land theft; boarding schools and missionaries that fractured individuals and communities and caused loss of language, knowledge, and culture; and the forced removed from ancestral homelands on the Trail of Tears. We are learning from the valuable wisdom and culture of our neighbors, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and their centuries of resistance and resilience. We are learning more about the history and legacy of slavery in this area.
We recognize our responsibility as educators, mentors, and community leaders to examine what we teach, how we lead, and the example we set, and how that affects the land, Indigenous, Black, and People of Color, and seven generations into the future. We aim to "embrace Indigenous values while maintaining a critical eye for cultural appropriation".
One of the things that most afflicts this country is that white people don't know who they are or where they come from."
- James Baldwin
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Those of us who are socially classified as white have roots deeper than “whiteness.” We are people – or, more accurately, peoples – whose identity and cultural center has been manipulated to serve a very specific function within capitalism. When we understand this story, we can more easily divest ourselves of the dysfunctional role we have been groomed to play, and join with people of color in the creation of a life sustaining society."
--David Dean, "Roots Deeper Than Whiteness"