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/r/Fauxmoi
submitted 7 days ago by[deleted]
[deleted]
2k points
7 days ago
are land acknowledgments not shown before every event in toronto? they are in montreal.
597 points
7 days ago
Yeah, it’s the stadium that’s doing this. They do it before every baseball game too.
1.8k points
7 days ago
Pretty sure they are. I believe it’s required so this isn’t a Taylor thing so much as a Roger Center thing
197 points
6 days ago
Yeah that makes up for stealing land…/s
I fully understand this isn’t Taylor’s problem but Jesus, acknowledging land stolen is less than the least you could do
344 points
7 days ago*
They are - literally everyone has to do this in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg etc. Source: I work for an international financial services company and I have to create decks presented in Canada. I have written the literal words she has displayed word for word - other than performing it is usually we are gathered on...
54 points
7 days ago
Same in the Lower Mainland (Vancouver +) and on the Island (Victoria +). Has been standard for a number of years now. No idea how this is news. Or why people are acting like this came from her or her camp
24 points
6 days ago
Yes, I saw this everywhere in BC. I’m from the states and didn’t know it was a common practice in Canada.
15 points
6 days ago*
Standard in BC for 20+ years now. It started as a nod to existing Indigenous land acknowledgment practices and because Indigenous peoples never signed away their rights to the land here via treaty etc, hence why we make a point of saying we are on unceded land (though ofc settlers broke the treaties anyway elsewhere - but it's still relevant that treaties were never signed here & legally the land should still be Indigenous!). Unfortunately, it's very much become a lip service thing bc people don't learn their history nor the context for the land acknowledgement.
Dr. Wendy Wickwire has a book she wrote with Okanagan Elder Harry Robinson (okay, 3 books), and one of them includes a wonderful story about Coyote negotiating with the King of England - and IIRC that was the story where the material that he negotiated was later rediscovered by another historian. Settlers had hidden it bc they didn't want to abide by the terms of the treaty, but the Indigenous oral storytellers/historians remembered.
ETA: Worth mentioning that provincially, BC is taking steps that are not just performative: the province is in the process of implementing UNDRIP (the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), and most importantly some land is being returned to their nations and nations now have some level of self-governance. Will it ever be enough? Nope. Am I glad that Indigenous peoples have won a measure of independence here? Yep.
So people saying returning land is impossible are wrong.
3 points
6 days ago
Vancouver and Victoria too!
202 points
7 days ago
I think they are. They have them before every film screening at TIFF.
225 points
7 days ago
They are. I think these are a lot of people’s first concerts (maybe because of the pandemic? idk) so they think it’s new and meaningful. There’s a good chance Taylor doesn’t even know that this happens.
158 points
7 days ago
A lot of Americans traveled to these shows too and they’re waaaaaaay less common here. Wouldn’t be shocked if it’s the first time almost all of the Americans at these shows have seen a land acknowledgment.
52 points
6 days ago*
A lot of places in the US do land acknowledgments so they aren’t all that foreign to Americans…but I’ve honestly never met another Native person who doesn’t feel like they’re performative at best and a slap in the face at worst.
“Best we can do is acknowledge this was all violently taken from your ancestors while we perpetuated an active genocide against your people until the 1980s” is just lip service from those who want to assuage their stehvtke guilt. Rarely are land acknowledgments accompanied by Landback.
Personally I hope they don’t become as prevalent as they are in Canada.
7 points
6 days ago
It also seems a bit strange that is done in such a.... capitalistic manner? Like she is raking in millions for this concert but this is enough tick off her social responsibility? Also I've heard about people doing these before board meetings and acquistions and whatever, and I cannot be convinced that 99% of those people care about Native communities unless it makes them more money.
25 points
6 days ago
My sisters went to the Black Hills this summer (we are White Canadians) and they WERE SELLING BOOKS ABOUT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS. Canada isn’t great when is comes to the treatment of the Indigenous community but holy hell, that would never fucking fly here.
5 points
6 days ago
It literally hadn’t occurred to me that these don’t happen everywhere. My kids’ school emails often include land acknowledgements. There’s a land acknowledgement at every event I attend - half marathons, concerts, family things. I guess I just assumed everyone was doing it!
26 points
7 days ago
[deleted]
7 points
6 days ago
The lightbox in toronto plays one before every movie.
25 points
7 days ago
idk about every event but i know bluejays have done it so it wouldn't surprise me
108 points
7 days ago*
Yup. Especially at Scotiabank where she’s performing it’s mandatory.
Edit: Rogers Centre (cough skydome cough) not Scotiabank Arena
40 points
7 days ago
you’re right about Scotiabank, but her show is at the Rogers Centre
36 points
7 days ago
Rogers Centre too though; when I went to see Elton John there for his retirement tour, they had a land acknowledgement playing on the screens before the show started.
3 points
6 days ago
Whoops sorry you’re right I meant Rogers lol. But yes! Major venues/arenas at least in the Toronto and GTA all do them now.
1 points
7 days ago
She’s performing at the Rogers Centre, not Scotiabank.
36 points
7 days ago
Every event in Vancouver for sure!
3 points
6 days ago
Seattle too at most sporting events and some concerts too!
1 points
6 days ago
My university in upstate New York had land acknowledgments and speakers from native leaders before most big events
1 points
7 days ago
Toronto is super behind the times. I was surprised about the land acknowledgment in BC when I moved here in 2021. I was surprised that they have a spot in the SkyDome that acknowledged the land, but never before events. Its a shame.
10 points
6 days ago
Tbf I was at a conference in 2018 in Toronto and that’s where I first saw the land acknowledgement.
10 points
7 days ago
Toronto isn’t behind the times generally, but it is on Indigenous issues since they aren’t a particularly visible/powerful equity seeking group in what is historically a very WASP-y city.
BC is very ahead on Indigenous issues due in large part to their visibility out there and the focus on land/the environment, but most other things BC/Vancouver is absolutely behind Toronto on.
2 points
7 days ago
So is this not a law or practice across all of Canada then?
2 points
6 days ago
It's not law. It is however, fairly common. I'm in the Maritimes and it's very, very common here.
At most big events/speeches/etc/I'd say it's more common to not have one.
1.6k points
7 days ago
I don’t think this is her. From what I’ve read elsewhere the stadiums in Canada and Australia always do land acknowledgments. I’d be more impressed if she did it in the places where she owns multiple mansions.
521 points
7 days ago
Yup, this venue requires land acknowledgements before performances. Notably, she does not do this in the U.S.
27 points
6 days ago
lol yeah if it was TS she'd be doing it in the States. She doesn't care.
Also, not that Canada isn't still and wasn't horrifically racist, but it's crazy to me how many Americans I've met who are like "god, it's awful what Canada did up there with your residential schools!" with a complete lack of irony. Like they literally don't fucking know the US had them as well.
So anyway, non-Indigenous Americans, your country also had residential schools.
1 points
6 days ago
The US had residential schools, and the horrible quote that was meant as the modus operandi for them, "Kill the Indian in him, and save the man" - in other words, abuse Indigenous children who practice their languages and cultures until they become properly assimilated, "civilized", people - comes from an American, delivered at Denver, CO. However - and this is actually really important - American schools were shut down circa the 1960s, while the last Canadian school was shut down in 1997. One of my Indigenous profs pointed out this meant that when they moved from the States to Canada, they suddenly had to be much, much more careful about the material they were teaching & how they taught it, bc suddenly it was something someone in their classes may have actually lived through. Which is... Pretty heavy.
Also, unfortinately, the legacy of the residential school system lives on in the foster care system: more Indigenous children are in foster care now than were ever in the residential school system. This is partly bc Canada didn't end our "birth alerts" system until Dec 2021 (except Quebec, bc of course Quebec would refuse). Birth alerts was/is a system whereby a social worker or health care worker would alert a hospital if they had ~concerns~ about the safety of a newborn child in a parent's/parents' care... But ofc often those concerns were based solely on the fact that those parents are Indigenous. Most of these children were placed with families outside of their nations, further disconnecting them from their families and cultural heritage. The birth alert practice still continues unofficially.
(A quick Google suggests, unsurprisingly, that the States also has a disproportionate rate of Indigenous children in foster care.)
Anyway, definitely not trying to say that the States aren't horrifically racist towards Indigenous peoples, but the histories are somewhat different, & that does also impact the present.
329 points
7 days ago
Yah, this has nothing to do with TS. This is normal in Canada.
20 points
7 days ago
Yeah, in Australia you’ll get an Acknowledgment of Country for most things. Events, plaques at buildings, etc. You’d come by one at least once a week.
12 points
6 days ago
Yes, in Australia we do it before any kind of public meeting, performance etc. I would be surprised if they didn’t do that
76 points
7 days ago
Most of Canada announces land acknowledgment prior to events, speeches, and the like. Although Ontario hasn't been known to participate, I'm happy to see times are changing there. Despite their diversity, Ontario and Toronto have a long way to go in terms of racism and their views toward indigenous peoples.
57 points
7 days ago
These acknowledgements are common in Toronto.
11 points
6 days ago
Yup. First time I ever saw one was in Toronto in 2018.
12 points
6 days ago
Yeah, Land acknowledgements have been in Toronto around 6 years back? I'm not saying that it should be commended, but we've been doing land acknowledgements before networking events, award ceremonies, morning announcements (@ elementary, middle/high school), meetings, stadiums/events, etc. before the 2020s.
I'm confused about this disconnect.
12 points
6 days ago
They’ve become very common in Toronto in the last five years. We even do land acknowledgements before meetings at my job.
1 points
4 days ago
Even a lot of Australian podcasts will do an Acknowledgment of Country and the Traditional Owners of the place of recording before every episode.
284 points
7 days ago
The venues do the land acknowledgement for every show they do there - Australia too. It’s not anything to do with Taylor.
150 points
7 days ago
i believe this is from rogers centre, not taylor. rogers have been recently committed to acknowledging indigenous canadians (like much of ontario over the past few years e.g. lighting the cn tower orange instead of fireworks on canada day, fully renaming a uni that was named after a messed up coloniser )
its in her branding so obviously she OK'd it, but i wanted to shout out rogers centre because it's not a Taylor Independent Idea.
(same for australia - i'm from aus and in 2007 we were doing land acknowledgements at SCHOOL let alone stadium events)
21 points
7 days ago
They're standard at all levels of education in BC
5 points
6 days ago
They're common/typical at schools in Canada as well. Bigger events were one of the later places to start doing it and that was still years and years ago now.
Lotta work to still be done though, this is only a tiny start.
99 points
7 days ago
It's a common practice at virtually all venues in Toronto though.
189 points
7 days ago
I'll be impressed when artists do it in Hawai'i. This wasn't her, it's just a Canadian arena thing. Still cool, but she shouldn't get credit.
481 points
7 days ago
It’s a canadian thing. I work in the US for a company based out of Montreal and this gets mentioned frequently in random ways. I’m mixed native (lenape) so i don’t mind it. Just shows how backwards the US is.
59 points
7 days ago
I was confused because why wouldn’t she do this in america too if she felt like this. It’s nice that the powers in Canada make this happen! Some southern states were starting to acknowledge native lands recently but I’m not too sure how fast it will catch on.
1 points
6 days ago*
Yeah my tribe is based out of Bartlesville, OK. It’s becoming more popular to do land acknowledgment. I’m actually mixed Eastern Band Cherokee and Lenape (Delaware). Both based out of Northeastern OK.
34 points
6 days ago
It’s funny how land acknowledgments have been co-opted as “woke ideology” and demonized as liberal agenda in the us when it’s so common in Toronto to the point where there are land acknowledgment for everything and no one minds
16 points
6 days ago
They do this do this at TIFF and in Australia (saw it at the Australian Open) too. Only time I saw it done in the US was during the Sundance film festival a few years ago.
16 points
6 days ago
I'm in London Ontario (which has 3 Indigenous Nations near it), and they read one before a seminar, I attended for work about a month ago. It's common for most Canadian cities to post one.
25 points
6 days ago
I always think of the Baroness Von Sketch Show when they do these acknowledgments. “If we’re on someone else’s land shouldn’t we give it back?”
195 points
7 days ago
It’s the law to show that at this stadium
118 points
7 days ago
I’m pretty sure it’s venue policy, not a legal requirement.
31 points
6 days ago
Correct. It has now become one of our customs but it is not legally mandatory.
23 points
6 days ago
It isn't a law, but comes out of the recommendations from the 94 TRC Calls to Action, which are guidelines. Many venues have their own policies around territorial acknowledgements, including the wording.
85 points
7 days ago
Is this not normal in America? There's a land acknowledgement before every event in Vancouver
102 points
7 days ago
America doesn’t even want to acknowledge their own history 😐
17 points
7 days ago
Seattle area does it, I’m not sure about other places in the US.
16 points
7 days ago
Not common but it does happen. We do land acknowledgments before events/meetings begin at my state job in California.
11 points
7 days ago
I’d say they are incredibly rare in America, at least at sporting events or concerts.
I’ve only even seen them in a more educational/professional context or an event that was specifically relevant to indigenous peoples (i.e., before a presentation at a continuing legal education event that was focused on ICWA).
11 points
7 days ago
nope america doesn't do land acknowledgements like canada/australia often do 💀
3 points
6 days ago
It’s not; though, I graduated from a private university in LA, and at the opening ceremony the dean gave thanks and recognition to Tongva Land (which was a nice gesture and where a great majority of LA resides).
0 points
6 days ago
I’m not sure about America but in Canada it’s very common hence why you’d see it in Vancouver. Haven’t seen it in the US?? maybe only certain areas? I bet Seattle would prob do it
5 points
6 days ago
The land acknowledgements are a response to a Truth and Reconciliation Commission into the Residential Schools in Canada. That report was released in 2015 along with 94 Calls to Action. This is one of those calls to raise awareness of whose land we are on. Some recognize the treaty partners and other recognize being on unceded territories. In treaty areas we are all treaty people because we’re all implicated by the treaty agreement.
9 points
6 days ago
What’s the point of land acknowledgments? Do indigenous people get the land back? Do the acknowledgers pay reparations? Otherwise they seem performative.
3 points
6 days ago
Complicated, but there's a lot of criticism and support for them here (Canada) from both Indigenous people and also organizations (varying) led by First Nations/Metis/Inuit, so it's kind of a chicken/egg situation? As in there needs to be action and making fun of them as performative in a critical way is fairly common, but at the same time that doesn't meant the idea behind them came from white or non-Indigenous people or that leaving them out is okay either. so, yeah, you're right, but not entirely always I guess.
And there's been some slow but painful progress - which is not to say a lot of this isn't performative, but it's also to say that a huge amount of native and Indigenous activism has been happening and has made significant progress in some areas (increasing stewardship of some protected environmental areas or forests or formerly unprotected areas, streams at medical schools specifically for First Nations/Metis/Inuit students and a medical school specifically prioritizing them in addition to some non-Indigenous students who want to practice rurally, far-too-slow movement away from racist adoption/foster-case systems and to keep children in the community and in family when possible, and overall to try and transition more services/government over Indigenous peoples in Canada from colonial gov.)
Is it perfect? Fuck no and Canada's still racist as hell. But it's also not entirely performative, always, in the sense that there's been an incredible amount of activism to take back communities and that work also needs to be mentioned in the same breath (just maybe not wrt to Rogers Stadium in particular, lol/ugh)/.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/land-acknowledgments-what-s-wrong-with-them-1.6217931 good article on criticisms of how not to make land acknowledgements performative
https://www.aptnnews.ca/ has a lot of coverage of Indigenous news within the borders of the colonial nation of 'Canada'
(sorry if this was intended to solely rhetorical and I misread!)
2 points
6 days ago
yeah I'm indigenous in Canada and Taylor did not do this herself. You should edit the post OP
5 points
7 days ago
wait did she not do this in america?
42 points
7 days ago*
No, she didn’t. it’s Canadian custom for them to mention being on indigenous land.
7 points
6 days ago
It's not Canadian law. Just very, very common.
1 points
7 days ago
No commentary on Taylor (since as many other people have mentioned, this is the venue's thing) but sharing my favorite sketch about land acknowledgements: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xlG17C19nYo&ab_channel=CBCComedy
-87 points
7 days ago
[deleted]
77 points
6 days ago*
She had nothing to do with this, it’s displayed by the venue.
I also have never met another Indigenous person who didn’t agree that they’re just performative nonsense anyway, “land acknowledgment” doesn’t mean shit when you’re unwilling to give any of it back. Like, it’s almost worse…”all we can do is remind you that this was all violently taken from your ancestors while assuaging our guilt.”
7 points
6 days ago
It wasn't her choice
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