While land acknowledgments are usually well-intentioned, some Indigenous scholars and leaders say that the ways they are sometimes executed by non-Natives can seem hollow, performative and ultimately, problematic.
From universities to sports games to city council meetings to Twitter bios, it's becoming increasingly common to see statements recognizing that the land on which one is standing once belonged to Indigenous people.
These statements, known as land acknowledgments, are an attempt to address the past, present and future of a particular location as it relates to Indigenous peoples as well as to understand one's own place within it. A land acknowledgment might be spoken before a public gathering or issued as a written statement by an institution. It could be as simple as saying,"This event is taking place on the traditional lands of the Muscogee Nation.