Lenten Repentance & the Land Acknowledgement

 

Respectfully, we begin by acknowledging that we are in the ancestral and unceded Traditional Territory of the Algonquin People. We recognize the Algonquins as the stewards of these lands and resources – in the past, in the present and in the future.

Have you heard about the one-person play/monologue called The Land Acknowledgement, or As You Like It, written and performed by Cliff Cardinal?  He is a funny guy and this is a witty and biting Indigenous take on the earnest Land Acknowledgements which are the staple of just about every event these days. From the excerpts I've seen and interviews I've heard, Cardinal points out this can become a form of facile virtue signalling which doesn't require any real work toward truth and reconciliation, not to mention giving land back to the rightful residents. He doesn't hold back on skewering the Roman Catholic church, either. 

I was delighted to hear about this show because of my own impatience and I may figure out a way to see it because there are times when I roll my eyes at these acknowledgements which can be, well, lengthy, and awash in sincerity.

 Don't get me wrong, I have actually employed a Land or Acknowledgment or two myself. I was involved in the Algonquin Park Summer Ministry until recently and I made the contact with the Algonquins of Ontario to ask what what they would like to be said at the beginning of the worship services in the park. After all, this is their traditional land and they have been involved in protracted negotiations with the Ontario government regarding a shared use agreement. I have also included a verbal Land Agreement during Creation Time. 

It's just that in some "the importance of being earnest" congregations there has been a whole lot of wrangling over whether they should be spoken every single week. I shake my head at the fact that most United Church congregations no longer include a psalm each Sunday yet some dutifully read their particular acknowledgement. I'm all for doing more "heavy lifting" when it comes to education and reciprocity, but wouldn't it make more sense to study the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action and ask how we can implement them? 

Here is a portion of the Mirvish blurb about The Land Acknowledgement: 

As more people saw the show, it became clear that what Cliff was doing with his new work was examining the relationship between the Indigenous community and the settlers. He was showing us what a young and insightful artist from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation sees in the aftermath of the discovery of unmarked graves on the grounds of former residential schools. He was offering us the unvarnished truth of the state of the reconciliation process this country has been attempting for the last few decades. He was using theatre to do what it has always done: to take a few moments and pay attention to someone other than our own selves.

I will continue to read the Land Acknowledgement which goes up on the screen at Trenton United in the scroll before worship. It is an important reminder of "our home on Native land". 

Cardinal's show should nudge us all to revisit the 94 Recommendations and ask how we can be part of repentance (always a worthwhile Lenten theme) and constructive change 

https://www.reconciliationeducation.ca/what-are-truth-and-reconciliation-commission-94-calls-to-action#:~:text=Build%20cultural%20competency%2C%20empathy%2C%20and,to%20advance%20understanding%20of%20reconciliation.