Indigenous land acknowledgements often ignore history
We should avoid creating mythology and special recognition that may have no basis in fact.
For some time I have been ruminating about the patronizing and self-serving indigenous land acknowledgements I first heard when I was living part-time in Australia. They seemed jarring and denigrating, while meant to be altruistic. When I moved to Canada I started to hear more of this, often accompanied by clearly false statements about history that annoyed me. Ever since the unfortunate repatriation of Kennewick man I had also been concerned about claimed ownership of artifacts that can be over 10 millennia old. If we go that far back, we are all related.
At the request of the Aristotle Foundation, I decided to put my concerns in writing. I expect there may be a backlash here, with claims of racism, and the like, but all I am requesting is that we be honest about history, and science, and accurately celebrate the cultures that contribute to the Canadian (and more generally Western) mosaic. Here is the introduction to my National Post piece:
I remember the first time I heard a statement at a public event along the lines of, “This building is located on traditional unceded Aboriginal land.” It was in Australia, and it struck me as disingenuous, simplistic and patronizing. If the people making this statement really felt that badly about the land they (and possibly their forebearers) lived and worked on for generations and ostensibly stole, then they would reasonably choose to give the land back along with all they had built upon it.
However, the people who utter such statements implicitly recognize that the country they inhabit and the land they live and work on is only distantly connected to the land occupied, or colonized earlier by groups we now label as Indigenous. Moreover, the land acknowledgments also skip over the reality that in some nations, treaties cover part or all of the territory — Canada and New Zealand, as examples.
In giving primacy to the more activist Indigenous groups, institutions and governments around the world readily express their willingness to not only change history, but also to ignore scientific evidence as well….
and here is the direct link:
https://nationalpost.com/opinion/lawrence-krauss-land-acknowledgements-often-ignore-history