LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT PRACTICE RESOURCES

Last Updated August 25, 2023, 10:00 a.m.

Dance/NYC believes the dance ecology must itself be just, equitable, and inclusive to meaningfully contribute to social progress and envisions a dance ecology wherein power, funding, opportunities, conduct, and impacts are fair for all artists, cultural workers, and audiences. To that end and as articulated in our Racial Justice Agenda, Dance/NYC seeks to dismantle white supremacy in dance and amplify the voices and autonomy of the African, Latina/o/x, Asian, Arab, and Native American (ALAANA) community. Dance/NYC acknowledges that the terms enclosed within the acronym ALAANA are not necessarily those that best represent these communities. The language we use across our justice, equity and inclusion initiatives is currently under organizational review. 

As a way of deepening our work and learning in racial justice, we regularly practice Land Acknowledgments at meetings and public convenings to recognize our country’s violent history and its legacy in the space we occupy. This practice is currently under development with the guidance of Indigenous dance artist and activist Emily Johnson to ensure that we embody this allyship. This includes taking actionable steps towards reparations in this initial instance by nurturing relationships with local Indigenous and First Nations artists and organizations, and making pathways for Lënape artists and leaders to return to Lenapehoking, today.

As a service organization, Dance/NYC often gets requests from artists and colleague arts organizations to share our Land Acknowledgement “language” and/or “protocols.” At this time, these are materials we typically do not publicly share in written form. We encourage the members of our community, our colleague organizations and friends to begin their own practice of land acknowledgement.

Dance/NYC has compiled this page which will be regularly updated and includes a resource list compiled by Emily Johnson that includes additional First Nations and Indigenous artists and scholars leading this work. We encourage all processes of Land Acknowledgement to include the development of intentional relationship and accountability with a First Nations artist and/or organization that includes compensation for ongoing work; a direct offer of reparations to Indigenous and First Nations artists in Lënapehóking; and a clear articulation of measurable actions and ongoing commitments for the future.

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Resources

A Guide and Call to Acknowledgment

• Find your native land and learn more about territory acknowledgment
• Honor Native Land through the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture
• Guide to Indigenous Land and Territorial Acknowledgments for Cultural Institutions
• Decolonization is not a Metaphor by Tuck, Eve and K.W Yang; 2012
• Changing the Narrative about Native Americans, a Guide for Allies
• Reclaiming Native Truth Research Findings
• Beyond Territorial Acknowledgments
• Catalyst Dance Decolonization Rider
• Praxis Sessions for Virtual Collaboration: Land Acknowledgements hosted by Unsettling Dramaturgy: Crip & Indigenous Dramaturgies
• Stanford Live land acknowledgment video and resources
• Howlround Instigating Institutional Change Towards Decolonization
• 'Tourists' In Our Own Homeland - The Lenape people were driven out of our homeland in the northeast U.S. Here's what it was like to go back.
• Lenni Lenapexkweyok's Educational Resources
• To find out whose lands you are on, text your zip code or city and state (separated by a comma) to (907) 312-5085 and a bot responds with the names of the Native lands that correspond to that region. The service currently only works for US residents, but may be available for other countries in the future. Please note, this is a useful tool to gather information but is not a replacement for building a meaningful relationship to the original stewards of the lands you occupy.

Advisors & Agencies

• Felicia Garcia, Samala Chumash
  Contact: landacknowledgement@gmail.com / feliciarenee00@gmail.com
• Melissa Shaginoff, Ahtna/Paiute; Udzisyu (caribou) and Cui Ui Ticutta (fish-eater) clans from Nay’dini’aa Na Kayax (Chickaloon Village)
  Contact: Melissashaginoff.com / mshaginoff@gmail.com
• Indigenous Direction
  Contact: Indigenousdirection.com / indigenousdirection@gmail.com
• IllumiNative
  Contact: illuminatives.org

• Groundwater Arts
  Contact: groundwaterarts.com
   

Indigenous-Led Organizations in Lënapehóking (NYC)

• Lenape Center: Lenape Center is committed to resisting the erasure of the Lenape people in their ancestral homeland of NYC through efforts to preserve, promote, and create Lenape arts, culture, and language (Unami). 
• Amerinda: AMERINDA‘s mission is to promote the indigenous perspective in the arts to a broad audience through the creation of new work in contemporary art forms—visual, performing, literary and media.
• Redhawk Native American Arts Council: Redhawk Native American Arts Council is a not for profit organization dedicated to educating the general public about Native American heritage through song, dance, theater, works of art and other cultural forms of expression. 
• American Indian Community House: (AICH) was founded in 1969, by Native American volunteers as a community-based organization, mandated to improve the status of Native Americans, and to foster inter-cultural understanding.
• Lenapeowsi Foundation: A group of concerned parents, community members, and elders that came together to pass on the Lenape language, culture, and traditions to young tribal members. 

Research on Colonial Structures in Language

• A Copy Editor’s Education in Indigenous Style
• Indigenous Peoples Terminology Guidelines for Usage
• Indigenous Inclusive Language (Australia)

 

Dance/NYC seeks to facilitate the sharing of information and resources to the community during this moment. Dance/NYC bears no responsibility for the accuracy, legality or content of the external sites. Please contact the external site for answers to questions regarding its content.