Page 29 - APAP - Inside Arts - Summer 2020

Vocalist Martha Redbone offered a Women’s Honoring Song after the land acknowledgement at APAP|NYC 2019.
The Guide is full of suggestions for researching which peoples are in your area, how to connect with local Native organizations, Indigenous studies programs and lots of online
The Guide says that “[f ]or
more than five hundred years, Native communities across the Americas have demonstrated resilience and resistance in the face
Indigenous and other communities of color in the global experience.
Here is an example of the longer version:
Every community owes
its existence and vitality to generations from around the world who contributed their hopes, dreams, and energy to making the history that led
to this moment. Some were brought here against their will, some were drawn to leave their distant homes in hope of a better life, and some have lived on
this land for more generations than can be counted. Truth and acknowledgment are critical to building mutual respect and connection across all barriers of heritage and difference.
We begin this effort to acknowledge what has been buried by honoring the truth. We are standing on the ancestral lands of the
“THE GUIDE SAYS THAT ‘[F]OR MORE THAN FIVE HUNDRED YEARS, NATIVE COMMUNITIES ACROSS THE AMERICAS HAVE DEMONSTRATED RESILIENCE AND RESISTANCE IN THE FACE OF VIOLENT EFFORTS TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THEIR LAND, CULTURE, AND EACH OTHER.’”
resources. Much information is available through this online Native Land map; it is often possible to learn correct pronunciation of tribal names by clicking their links on that map.
What about all the other people who lived here—the Africans who were brought against their will to the communities of color pushed out to make way for gentrification? Shouldn’t we acknowledge them too?
of violent efforts to separate them from their land, culture, and each other.” They may have been the
first on this landmass harmed by colonial policies, but by no means the last. The USDAC encourages individuals to incorporate a longer acknowledgement into your presentation. This version views the land acknowledgement through an intersectional lens. This integrated acknowledgement recognizes the interconnected oppression of Black,
SUMMER 2020 INSIDE ARTS 27
ADAM KISSICK/APAP