Acknowledging Indigenous Lands In Your Wedding Ceremony And Beyond
Acknowledging Indigenous Lands In Your Wedding Ceremony And Beyond—
Acknowledging indigenous lands is a tender topic close to my heart. It can be a fraught topic, and I understand why some people prefer to bury their heads in the sand. Certainly there is a lot to unpack and make sense of. However it is my practice to acknowledge indigenous lands in the wedding ceremonies I perform. I don’t want to let my own or other people’s ignorance or discomfort prevent me from doing what feels right and important and necessary and true. Since I am in California, I reference this digital land map to help me acknowledge the correct tribes. The site itself is a work in progress, and there is a disclaimer on the home page that reads:
“This map does not represent or intend to represent official or legal boundaries of any Indigenous nations. To learn about definitive boundaries, contact the nations in question. Also, this map is not perfect — it is a work in progress with tons of contributions from the community. Please send us fixes if you find errors.”
Many native people don’t feel like doing a land acknowledgment is good enough… that doing a land acknowledgment can be performative and make you think you’re off the hook, when in fact doing a land acknowledgement is a tiny first step towards awareness, respect and reparations. My intention with this blog post is more about explaining what a land acknowledgement is and how one might make a land acknowledgement in a wedding ceremony. It does not address the nuances and complexities of whether or not making a land acknowledgment does more harm than good.
So, what is land acknowledgment?
“Land acknowledgment is a traditional custom that dates back centuries in many Native nations and communities. Today, land acknowledgments are used by Native Peoples and non-Natives to recognize Indigenous Peoples who are the original stewards of the lands on which we now live.” -Native Knowledge 360°
“Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase Indigenous people’s history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth.” -US department of Arts and Culture
Did you know?
“IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS NEW ZEALAND, AUSTRALIA, CANADA, AND AMONG TRIBAL NATIONS IN THE U.S., it is commonplace, even policy, to open events and gatherings by acknowledging the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of that land. While some individuals and cultural and educational institutions in the United States have adopted this custom, the vast majority have not.” -US department of Arts and Culture
Examples of land acknowledgements:
"We uplift, honor, and speak the traditional names of the land and people to remind this community and all other visitors, that these peoples did, and do still exist. Without their committed stewardship, we would not be enjoying this place today." -Seeing Sovereignty.
“We gratefully acknowledge the Native Peoples on whose ancestral homelands we gather, as well as the diverse and vibrant Native communities who make their home here today.” -NMAI Land Acknowledgement copied from Native Knowledge 360°
Additional resources:
This is the simplest, most basic and straightforward explanation I can offer you, but there is no shortage of resources about land acknowledgements, and how and why they’re done. For those of you who would like to learn more, I have consolidated several resources below for your convenience.
Seeding Sovereignty
Native Knowledge 360°
Native Governance Center
US department of Arts and Culture
“When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It’s a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future. We carry our ancestors in us, and they’re around us. As you all do.”
How to simply and skillfully include a land acknowledgement in a wedding ceremony:
When I am performing a wedding ceremony - because of the context - my land acknowledgments are generally simple and succinct, unless a couple asks me to make it rather elaborate. I tend to include it when I give thanks for the venue/view/landscape (given that 99% of my ceremonies take place outdoors.) I might say something like “As we stand in this beautiful place today we recognize that we are guests here, and we acknowledge the {tribal name}, recognizing that without their dedicated stewardship we would be unable to enjoy this beautiful place today.”
This blog post was written in Santa Cruz, CA. Santa Cruz is unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. To support indigenous sovereignty in California you can donate here. You can also pay Shuumi land tax. The Shuumi Land Tax is a voluntary annual contribution that non-Indigenous people living on traditional Lisjan Ohlone territory make to support the critical work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust.