Without giving too much detail, what are your thoughts on including a short land acknowledgement at the start of a wedding ceremony (a white couple)?
I've done research into the ancestral lands that the ceremony will be held in, but I'm wondering if I should really be communicating with a local tribal leader before developing the language.
It would only be a few sentences, so I'm not sure if I'm overthinking it. Thanks.
Edit: Thanks for all the feedback. Won't be including an acknowledgement.
Bothering local tribe seems excessive tbh, unless they perform ceremony. Donate to their struggles, say couple of sentences and chill :shrug-outta-hecks: but I don’t know complete settler dynamics
Is it a handfasting or other type of pagan ceremony? Asking for the blessings of the local spirits is good but you don't need to call them by name.
If you're just trying to acknowledge the fact that you're standing on stolen land I think it will be awkward in a wedding no matter how you say it.
You should also include an anti-union statement in your land acknowledgement
Example
https://hexbear.net/post/172539
Just popping in to say your inclination itself isn’t cringe, as others are implying. It’s ok to want to acknowledge that reality, but without appropriate context it is performative and not a great idea (I.e. do you have a bunch of friends from indigenous backgrounds, family members, or is this a really important cause for you as a couple in which case follow @cilantrofellow’s advice. Or… are you getting married in a really obvious stolen venue like Mount Rushmore for some reason)
I think it’s a well-intentioned gesture to consider but realize more than anything that gestures are not restorative on their own. Like others have mentioned if you want to couple it with something like a donation or request attendees to donate to one of a list of charities including tribal ed funds or something in lieu of gifts then sure. Also make sure to write it yourself critically and personally. It’s not something to paste onto the front of an otherwise unrelated ceremony.
There is a growing body of text that is skeptical of land acknowledgements from the indigenous perspective. If you want to do it because you have seen other left leaning or progressive people doing it think about what it does aside from signaling your politics to attendees.
A better thing might be to place it at the bottom of a wedding program and encourage people to donate, as you have done. That accomplishes the same thing without looking performative.
“Sorry not sorry.”
And why do it before every lecture? I’m sorry, I forgot the first time.
land acknowledgments are generally cringe. They would also just kinda ruin the happy spirit of the wedding without really doing anything for the native peoples.
Who is the performance really for? I think it would be more appropriate to mention something in the program and then perhaps donate some money to the indigenous representatives. Acknowledgement is not action, you see
