Table of Contents
In late 2021, the PCC Advisory Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ACDEI) was asked by the PCC Policy Committee (PoCo) to draft a land acknowledgement statement for use by the PCC. In investigating this request, ACDEI members found significant criticism of these statements, with the main concern being that these statements can be performative and used in place of initiating real change benefiting Indigenous peoples. Additionally, the PCC is a global organization, whose members include Indigenous people and settlers across a variety of geographic, institutional, and historical contexts, and whose activities take place on many different lands and virtual infrastructures. As such, no single land acknowledgement can represent the PCC's relationships to Indigenous lands or peoples. A generic or "fill in the blank'' land acknowledgement would be antithetical to the local reflection, contextualization, and action that these types of statements encourage.
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Our listing starts off with the Native Land Digital Map as any initial step must begin with the knowledge of whose lands we are situated on. The resources that follow lead you to presentations, teaching modules, articles, and websites. However, none of these resources is a substitute for establishing relationships with Indigenous peoples themselves. We encourage the establishment of mutually beneficial relationships with local Indigenous peoples (including appropriate recognition of the significant demands on the time and energy of those within Indigenous communities).
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Land Acknowledgement Resources
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List of 16 resources compiled by Adrienne Keene (Cherokee Nation) in 2021, with information about the Land Back movement and moving beyond symbolic or check-box acknowledgements.
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2021 CBC News article by Ka’nhehsí:io Deer providing perspectives from multiple First Nations people on land acknowledgments, and how organizations can take action beyond those statements.
More than Words: A Guide to Land Acknowledgements
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2019 blog post from Dr. Debbie Reese on the American Indians in Children's Literature blog about whether and how to do a land acknowledgement.
So You Began Your Event with an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement. Now What?
Transformative Territory Acknowledgement Guide
Guide from Len Pierre Consulting, with examples, guidelines and resources for developing more reflective and transformative territorial acknowledgements2023 NPR broadcast/story on land acknowledgements and perspectives from Indigenous leaders and activists on the practice.
Indigenous Metadata Resources
Latin American and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas (LAIPA) SACO Funnel
SACO Funnel project that provides a mechanism for proposing the creation of new subject headings and the changing or updating of old subject headings relating to Latin America and to the experience of the indigenous Indigenous peoples of the Americas.
Best Practices in Authority Work Relating to Indigenous Nations in the U.S.
2023 document from the LAIPA SACO Funnel, providing guidance to US-based settlers and other non-Indigenous people on authority work relating to Indigenous nations in the U.S., with an emphasis on sustained relationship building in ensuring library terminology respects Indigenous peoples' autonomy in naming practices.
Global Indigenous Data Alliance (GIDA)
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List of eight existing guidelinesfor visual resource workers, developed by Devon Murphy in 2019 as Getty Vocabulary Intern at the Getty Research Institute, such as the Society of American Archivists’ Protocols for Native American Archival Materials and the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums Digital Stewardship Curriculum.
Creating subject headings for Indigenous topics: a culturally respectful guide
2023 document by Richard Sapon-White, Pamela Louderback, and Sara Levinson, designed to facilitate the work of catalogers creating subject headings for Indigenous topics.
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Overview of the library’s use of a locally developed classification scheme and subject heading system to organize material in its collection with links to additional resources.
Hawaiian Language Controlled Vocabulary and Metadata. The project included collaborative work on a new vocabulary which can be searched at Ulukau.org.
Implementing Reparative Description for Indigenous Collections
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A group that develops research, policy, and practice innovations for Indigenous data sovereignty.
Personal Narratives
What's Wrong With Land Acknowledgments, and How to Make Them Better
2021 CBC News article by Ka’nhehsí:io Deer providing perspectives from multiple First Nations people on land acknowledgments, and how organizations can take action beyond those statements.
So You Began Your Event with an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement. Now What?
2023 NPR broadcast/story on land acknowledgements and perspectives from Indigenous leaders and activists on the practice.
Six Miles from the Mouth of the River: Who Are Land Acknowledgements For?
2024 column by Kelly Boutsalis, a Mohawk journalist from the Six Nations of the Grand River, on the problems surrounding land acknowledgements from her viewpoint.