The Land Remembers.
Why we need to Rethink Land Acknowledgements
By: Kaila Maillet | Founder of Cocahq N’Pisun
Land acknowledgements are everywhere, from school announcements to Zoom calls to government meetings.
But something has been lost along the way. Somewhere between the printed agendas and the polished statements, we forgot what these words are really for. At Cocahq N'pisun, we say this often: "The land remembers. We are responsible for making sure the people on the land do not forget." This is where our work begins.
Acknowledgement is not performance. Land acknowledgements were never meant to be a box to check, a moment of guilt, or a token of allyship. They are an invitation. A grounding. A call to memory. The land you are standing on right now holds story, sovereignty, grief, and resistance. It holds ancestors. Treaties. Agreements broken and upheld. It remembers.
When we treat land acknowledgements like a script, we lose their power. When we turn them into obligation instead of opportunity, we rob them of their relational roots. The problem isn’t the words. It’s the forgetting.
We’ve see organizations with land acknowledgements on their websites, continuing to uphold policies that harm Indigenous people. We watched speakers fumble through a territory name they don’t understand and then move on as if the work is done.
Acknowledging land is not about feeling bad. It’s about showing up better. It’s about remembering what the land already knows, and asking ourselves how we are living in relationship with that truth. Acknowledgements are for grounding, not guilt. Western guilt doesn’t move us, it freezes us. It centers western feelings instead of First Nations realities. That’s why our approach at Cocahq N’pisun isn’t about guilt. It’s about grounding, about inviting people to drop into the present moment, place their feet on the land, and listen.
Our workshop, "The Land Remembers: A Living Approach to Land Acknowledgements", is designed to guide organizations and individuals into a deeper understanding of what land acknowledgements can do, and what they require from us in return, what the land needs from us
In the workshop, we explore:
Why land acknowledgements started, and who they are for
How to avoid performative practices
How to ground your acknowledgements in action, memory, and relationship
Questions you can ask to deepen your connection to the land you occupy
We also share our own land acknowledgement. One that speaks from Treaty 6 territory, where Cocahq N'pisun was born. Acknowledging the land is how we begin every conversation. But it’s never the end of the work. We invite you to join us in remembering.
If you’re ready to move beyond the script. To return to memory, meaning, and sacred accountability this offering is for you.
Because the land remembers. And we are responsible to not forget.
Workshop Info
A gentle yet honest reframe of what land acknowledgements mean in practice. It invites participants to step beyond scripted statements into a space of memory, responsibility, and relational truth-telling.
Length: 30–45 minutes
Intended Audience: Support providers, frontline staff, educators, administrators, community leaders
Delivery Format: In-person or virtual
Contact: info@cocahqnpisunspiritmedicine.ca
Citations (for the academics) Tuck, E., & Yang, K. W. (2012). Decolonization is not a metaphor. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 1(1), 1–40.
Simpson, L. B. (2014). Land as pedagogy: Nishnaabeg intelligence and rebellious transformation. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), 1–25.
Borrows, J. (2010). Canada’s Indigenous Constitution. University of Toronto Press.
Coulthard, G. S. (2014). Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition. University of Minnesota Press.
