In Kingston and Woodstock I practice on the traditional territories of the Mohican and Lenape people, near the Mahicannituck (Hudson river) named by the Muh-he-con-neok or Mohican “people of the waters that are never still.” In Woodstock my practice is adjacent to the land of the Munsee-speaking Esopus Lenape, “the real or original people.”
A land acknowledgement is made to recognize the indigenous people of a place and to honor their relationship as protectors of the land and waterways of a place. It is also a way to take steps to protect and honor these people and places today, and to acknowledge the harm caused by disease, war, colonization and exploitation by white bodied European people to these people and on this land. It is a way for me personally to honor history, and to find a place within it by acknowledging current tribal sovereignty and the impacts of ongoing colonialism today.
This land acknowledgement is a commitment on my part to engage with this process. If you wish to do so, here are some places to begin:
use nativeland.org to research and educate yourself on the history and current status of the original people where you live and work
support the work of local Indigenous people like artist, dancer, and storyteller Joan Henry and writer and historian Evan T. Pritchard
donate to and support indigenous-led grassroots movement organizations for change such as
NDN Collective
Native Governance Center
Seeding Sovereignty