Land Acknowledgement

Author(s): Brandy Perkl, Ph.D.

I live and (usually) work remotely from the traditional, ancestral, and unceded homelands of the Yuhaaviatam/Maarenga'yam (Serrano) and Ɂívil̃uwenetem Meytémak (Cahuilla) peoples in Southern California. I honor their enduring connection to these lands and waters, and I'm committed to learning how my actions, both personal and professional, can support Indigenous sovereignty and environmental stewardship.

Why I include this acknowledgement

Territory acknowledgements can feel performative if they're just words. I include mine in emails and course materials sometimes as an invitation - to myself and to you - to think about whose lands we occupy, who has been displaced, and what our responsibilities are as settlers and guests.

This isn't just a box to check for me. It's a practice of accountability and relationship-building.

For example, I live with a magnolia tree that's older than most flowering plants... its ancestors evolved 95 million years ago, before bees even existed (my daughter taught me this gem during a dinosaur deep-dive). This type of awareness reminds me that Indigenous peoples have been in relationship with these lands for thousands of generations, while I'm just beginning to learn the names and stories of this place. Territory acknowledgements help me remember I'm just a guest in a much longer story and remind me to do my best where I am with what I have to act in culturally responsive ways. 

How I created this

I worked with Kōrero, an AI land acknowledgement guide created by Native Land Digital, to reflect deeply on my relationship with place. Rather than copying a generic statement, I spent time considering my specific context, commitments, and ongoing learning. I encourage you to do the same! Then I took a bunch of the text down to a more generic version vs. the lovely specific one it made for me, because it WAS so personal to my family and our location that it felt a little exposing to post here. But I will likely share it when I do these out loud in the future.

Resources for learning more

• Native Land Digital - Map and resources

• Territory Acknowledgement Guide

• Kōrero: Land Acknowledgement Assistant - The conversational AI I used

A note to colleagues and students

If territory acknowledgements feel uncomfortable or unfamiliar, that discomfort is data. I'm learning too. Let's stay curious together. My Native students have often noted how hollow these can feel when rushed or obligatory, which makes so much sense. I'm trying to do this differently: as an ongoing practice of learning and accountability, not a one-time gesture.