Is a Land Acknowledgment followed by a Colon or a Period? 

 

When we acknowledge the land, are we also acknowledging the legal orders and governance structures that come with it? Or is it just something we say to demonstrate awareness without unpacking its deeper implications?

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If you’ve ever received an email from me, my old signature was short (it has since changed):

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I acknowledge that this correspondence is sent from the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation... I remain committed to ongoing learning, solidarity, and challenging the colonial default. 

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But here’s my question: If land acknowledgments are about recognizing whose land we are on, why do they rarely recognize the governance and legal systems that have existed here since time immemorial? As a policy advisor trained in law, I can’t help but analyze words and meaning. And I’ll be real with you, the researcher in me knows very well that most land acknowledgments wouldn’t hold up under legal scrutiny. These are the "track changes" questions that remain unanswered:

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• What is being said?

• What is being implied?

• Does this align with legal, governance, and relational realities?

If Indigenous legal systems are real, functioning, and active today, why do we not acknowledge them in the same way we recognize Canadian law? 

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Governance and Legal Orders: More Than Symbolic

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Governance isn’t just something written in legislation. It’s lived, rooted in relationships with land, water, sky, animals, and people. Indigenous legal traditions are not frozen in history; they actively maintain balance, resolve disputes, and guide decision-making, just like Canadian law functions in courts.

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Think about this: When I arrived in the UK at age 11 for a summer vacation, I didn’t give need to do a land acknowledgment recognizing England. The common law is built into everything and that started the moment the lovely customs agent stamped my passport. British sovereignty is the foundation of their society and expressed through various institutions and structures including the legal system, social structures, societal norms, art and television, government, and all because of public policy rooted in British sovereignty, nationhood and British governance-traditions. Yet in BC, where Indigenous legal traditions have existed for thousands of years, we drive past courthouses without acknowledging the governance systems that predate them nor drawing from them to answer some of the most challenging public policies questions of our time!

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• Salish laws are exercised in the Longhouse.

• nêhiyaw (Cree) laws are upheld in law lodges or Mikiwâhpa Pihtwâkamîk.

• Métis legal traditions shape kinship, governance, and dispute resolution.​

 

Why don’t our land acknowledgments reflect this? Because doing so would mean recognizing Indigenous law as real, present, and valid—just like Canadian law. 

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Indigenous Languages as Legal Frameworks

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Indigenous languages encode legal principles, jurisdiction, obligations, decision-making processes. They carry governance systems and kinship responsibilities that guide how we raise children, care for the land, and resolve conflicts. Here in Nanaimo, I live in Snuneymuxw Territory. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I am grateful to learn from those who carry kinship teachings rooted in the land, providing us a framework for relationality and reciprocity. 

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I’ve been learning nêhiyawêwin Cree three nights a week from very knowledgable instructors. Recently, we revisited the word "awâsis" or child. Did you know it also means "angelic, lighted being". In nêhiyaw legal traditions, children are not owned; we walk with them. That isn’t just poetic, it’s a public policy principle. 

 

If we come to see children as awâsis (angelic, lighted beings), a policy analyst would be preparing briefing notes that go much further than the standard orthodox approach. We need to embed that principle into the legal frameworks that shape the lives of children and youth. This means codifying Indigenous understandings of childhood and care into federal and provincial laws governing child welfare, education, and youth justice.  

• Child Welfare: Laws must shift from an apprehension-based model to one that legally recognizes children's right to kinship, culture, and Indigenous legal traditions in their upbringing.

• Education: The sacred responsibility of raising children should be reflected in education laws that mandate culturally grounded, land-based learning and ensure Indigenous languages—as legal languages—are protected and taught.

• Youth Justice: Youth justice laws should move beyond punitive approaches to recognize relational accountability, ensuring that Indigenous legal traditions, such as Cree law lodges and Métis dispute resolution, guide decision-making.

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Beyond Acknowledgment: A Call to Action

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If land acknowledgments are to mean something, they must go beyond symbolism. They must recognize legal orders and governance systems that predate Canada.
 

• If Indigenous laws exist, are they being recognized?

• If you are Indigenous, are you learning the language of governance on your land?

• If you are not Indigenous, are you learning the language of the place you live?​

Here's my entire land acknowledgement since I finished 6 months of part time language classes:

askīyi-wimamīhcītotamowin - Land Acknowledgment 

I acknowledge that this correspondence is sent from the unceded territory of the Snuneymuxw First Nation. I extend my gratitude to the Snuneymuxw Mustimuhw (Snuneymuxw People) for their enduring stewardship and deep connection to their te’mexw (land), here in what is now known as Nanaimo. I am grateful to learn from those who carry kinship teachings rooted in the land, providing us a framework for relationality and reciprocity. I remain committed to ongoing learning, solidarity, and challenging the colonial default. I recognize the responsibilities and relationships embedded in the Douglas Treaty and affirm that we are all treaty people.  
 

Because if we truly acknowledge the land, we must also acknowledge the governance systems that come with it. And if we acknowledge those systems, we should be using them to shape public policy; centering Indigenous legal traditions rather than treating them as artifacts of the past. If that’s the standard, I’m all in. 

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ahâw.

(I was asked whether this land acknowledgement can be utilized in crafting land acknowledgements in public spaces or at opening ceremonies of events or in emails and of course my response is feel free to use it and make it your own!)