To begin, this has been a tradition that has dated back centuries for
Indigenous people, but for many non-Indigenous Canadians, officially
recognizing the territory or lands we stand on is a fairly new concept.
However, it’s one that many Indigenous people say marks a small but
essential step toward reconciliation.
A territorial or land acknowledgement is an act of reconciliation that
involves making a statement recognizing the traditional territory of the
Indigenous people who called the land home before the arrival of settlers,
and in many cases still do call it home.
Its purpose is to recognize that we, as settlers and as people who are not
part of First Nations or Indigenous groups, are here on their traditional
lands. Land acknowledgements have become increasingly common in
non-Indigenous spaces in the last few years, especially since the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission (TRC) on residential schools released its 94
calls to action in 2015.
Liberated by God’s Grace, the ELCIC encourages all members and
congregations to reflect upon our own national and church history, to seek
greater understanding of the issues facing Indigenous peoples, and to walk
with Indigenous peoples in their ongoing efforts to exercise their inherent
sovereignty and fundamental human rights.
In 2011, the ELCIC made a commit to promote right and renewed
relationships between non-indigenous and Indigenous Peoples within
Canada. In July, 2015, the ELCIC renewed this commitment to truth,
reconciliation and equity by repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery.
We understand this to be both an urgent and a long-term commitment.
Acknowledging the territory where we gather and the people who have
traditionally called it home for thousands of years is a way to continue to
live out the church’s Apologies to the First Peoples of North America. The
acknowledgement supports our calls to others to pay respect to Indigenous
peoples. It is also one way the church can work toward right relations—by
repudiating the Doctrine of Discovery that assumed the land was empty
when European explorers, traders, and settlers first came.
In order to promote mutual respect, peace, and friendship, the ELCIC
National Church Council encouraged the recognition of Traditional Territory
of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples at the gatherings of the Church,
nationally, provincially, and in local contexts.
At the most recent Eastern Synod Assembly, titled “Let There be Greening”,
motions were adopted including motions dealing with structural racism in
the church which does include Indigenous Peoples, as well as a motion
that the Eastern Synod reacquaint ourselves with the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action, the UN Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous People, and that the Eastern Synod reaffirm our
commitment to the work of Truth and Reconciliation and deepening our
relationship with our Indigenous neighbours.
Our ELCIC and Eastern Synod are working hard to guide our members into
learning and understanding not only the cultures and customs of
Indigenous People, but also the history of broken treaties and mistreatment
of Indigenous People by settlers and the Government of Canada.
St. Peter's Lutheran Church Brodhagen Land Acknowledgement (adopted June 30, 2024)
Living, playing, worshipping and working on the ancestral land and its
waterways of the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee and Neutral Peoples
(Crawford Purchase (1783)). We wish to recognize the long history of
Indigenous Peoples in Canada and show our respect to them today. We
recognize their stewardship of the land, and this responsibility extends to all
peoples, to share and care for this land for generations to come.