Rural eMentoring BC (ReMBC), whose offices are located at UBC Vancouver’s Campus, would like to acknowledge that we work on the traditional, ancestral and un-surrendered territory of the Musqueam People. Land acknowledgment is about reflecting on the places where we reside and work and play, while respecting all peoples and their experiences, and in recognition of the Indigenous traditions and ties to the land.
Land acknowledgment can help build understanding about our relationships and responsibilities to the Indigenous people and lands where we live and work. It is a living celebration of Indigenous communities and relationships, and appreciation for the rich history and culture of the lands where we live and work.
My name is Angela Nash and I am Wəlastəkwewiyik (Maliseet) from Sitansisk (St. Mary’s First Nation) in Fredericton, New Brunswick. I live, work and play on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) People of the River Grass. Unceded means that this land was never surrendered, relinquished or handed over in any way.
I recognize Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the land that spans millennia. I pay respect to my ancestors, my culture, my ceremonies, my traditions and my ties to the land. I thank all those who have gone before us, and all those who will come after us.
The lands we reside on as a country hold the stories and song of Indigenous Peoples from time immemorial. Indigenous people are people of oral traditions, and what we hear is important and never forgotten. The land gives us our identity, and acknowledging where we are from and where we are, helps us all to understand who we are. This is why the connection to land is so important to Indigenous People.
Land acknowledgment is a part of reconciliation, and as such I give you all the responsibility to continue your self-education by asking questions and learning more about reconciliation. Questions like… What can you do to better care for the land? Who lived on this land before you? And I invite you to learn more about Land Acknowledgment and to learn about UBC’s Indigenous Strategic plan, and ReMBC’s own Indigenous Initiatives [link].
I invite you all to research what traditional lands you live, work and play in so that you can in your own way give acknowledgment.
Wəliwən, Wela’lin, Thank you
Angela Nash
eMentoring Indigenous Initiatives Manager