land acknolwedgements

Beginning in episode 133, our hosts make a land acknowledgement when introducing themselves. From native-land.ca:

“Territory acknowledgement is a way that people insert an awareness of Indigenous presence and land rights in everyday life. This is often done at the beginning of ceremonies, lectures, or any public event. It can be a subtle way to recognize the history of colonialism and a need for change in settler colonial societies.”

As library professionals who believe that our work is not neutral, we decided that land acknowledgements would be valuable to include in our episodes for several reasons:

We’ve always included our location in our introductions, and this is a more correct and less colonial version of those intros.
To remind ourselves at the top of every episode to consider the context of the literature we’re reading, and the context of our own work.
To encourage our listeners to look into the history of the land they live and work on.

Here are land acknowledgments for the many places our hosts have recorded the podcast:

Current:

The traditional, ancestral, and unceded land of the Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and Stó:lō people. (Vancouver, BC, Canada)
The traditional homelands of the Nuwuvi, Southern Paiute People, including the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe and the Moapa Band of Paiutes. (Las Vegas, NV, USA)
The unceded traditional territory of Algonquin Anishinabee. (National Capital Region of Canada aka Ottawa/Gatineau)

The ancestral homelands of the Pokanoket Nation. (Warren, RI, USA)
The traditional territory of the Neutral, Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee and Métis Peoples. Recognizing the significance of the Dish with One Spoon Covenant to that land. (Guelph, ON, Canada)

We want to continually review and reflect on our practices around decolonization, and we welcome feedback from listeners. You can contact the hosts at bookclub4m(at)gmail(dot)com.

Further reading on land acknowledgments: