Why do we have land acknowledgements

Land acknowledgements have a history and significance which is worth thinking about when we hear them.

First and foremost they are part of indigenous tradition, so while they may seem to be a new concept to some people, they are traditional customs that date back centuries.

Second they are an act of reconciliation which many indigenous people say marks a small but necessary first step signalling the beginning of a learning process.

When we hear that we are on the traditional, ancestral and unceded territories of the Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh and Musqueam Nations, it reminds us that we are settlers, and that these lands were not signed away in negotiated treaties, but taken by force.

It also reminds us that these First Nations, as well as other Coast Salish peoples, are still here, and so those of us working in public life have an obligation to engage with them.