Significance of Land Acknowledgement

Why we use territorial acknowledgement as opposed to land acknowledgement?

Territorial acknowledgment and land acknowledgement, although often thought to be similar in meaning, should not be used interchangeably. Territorial acknowledgement specifically refers to the geographical areas that were historically inhabited by Indigenous peoples, aiming to recognize the historical and ongoing connection of Indigenous peoples to their traditional territories. A land acknowledgment is a formal statement that refers to the historical and current land stewardship by Indigenous peoples, which acknowledges the historical and ongoing relationship that Indigenous peoples have with their ancestral lands. Although both types of acknowledgements strive to recognize Indigenous peoples and their connections to their lands, to continue to advance reconciliation it is mutually beneficial to understand the significance between the two terms.