A Guide to Native American Land Acknowledgement

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Becky Love, recently retired Hatching Results Lead Professional Learning Specialist

Hi to all, I’m Becky Love, a recently retired Hatching Results Lead Professional Learning Specialist, and I wanted to share a couple of resources with you on Land Acknowledgements.

With Indigenous Peoples' Day just around the corner, I invite you to entertain the opportunity to enhance relationships with your Native American community. What data are you and your colleagues presently collecting about the American Indian students in your county, district, or school? Upon reviewing your data, you may discover a student group that would be worthy of a Closing the Gap Intervention. Understanding that family engagement is one sure way to increase student outcomes; we encourage you to consider the practice of making a Land Acknowledgement at the beginning of school board meetings, faculty meetings, student assemblies, and family engagement events.

Land Acknowledgements are not for Natives but for non-native people; however, the practice is sure to be noticed and appreciated by natives in your community. This pdf created by the US Dept. of Arts and Culture in 2017, outlines the three essential steps in making a Land Acknowledgement.

  • The what and why pertaining to Land Acknowledgement

  • How to make a Land Acknowledgement

  • Practical approaches in building relationships with your Native Community

Everyone can learn about the traditional Indigenous inhabitants of the land in their area by typing an address into the website native-land.ca. Indigenous tribes from across the nation are easily searchable by location.

I used the aforementioned resources in preparation for the Land Acknowledgement at the California Association of School Counselors (CASC) first Student Mental Health Summit in Burlingame, CA. One of the attendees was emotional in conveying her appreciation for the Land Acknowledgement, and others made private comments that they were going to model this practice in their school communities! 

We, as school counselors, are ethically compelled to be change agents, and implementing the practice of Land Acknowledgement is one way to initiate change. Another change that Hatching Results practices is the celebration of Indigenous Peoples’ Day in lieu of Columbus Day. This year, Indigenous Peoples’ Day falls on Monday, Oct. 9th. Another time for recognition and celebration is Native American Heritage Month in November.

Conducting a Land Acknowledgement and participating in holidays are simple changes we can make that will be appreciated by Native people.

A version of this story was originally published on August 17, 2023, in our Quarterly Newsletter.