Territorial Acknowledgement and Call to Action

I wish to acknowledge that the University of Alberta is located in Treaty 6 territory of the Papaschase Cree, and homeland of the Métis Nation. ([https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Numbered-Treaties-Map.svg/2560px-Numbered-Treaties-Map.svg.png Map of Canada's treaties)

I also acknowledge that land acknowledgements—while important — are of limited effect in themselves. They can easily become merely boilerplate, pro forma and perfunctory, without feeling or commitment. Such token gestures are completely inadequate to address - not to mention redress - the horrific injustices suffered by Indigenous peoples of Canada since colonial conquests began.

We are here primarily to study music; not everyone can work full-time for social justice. Yet, we can all do something to effect real change. Perhaps the most importantly, we can educate ourselves, and others, as a step towards decolonization.

Treaty 6, signed in 1876-78 but differently interpreted by Indigenous and Crown signatories, was repeatedly violated by British and later Canadian authorities. For instance the Papaschase Cree lost their land in Edmonton, though they signed the treaty in 1877, as a result of the Indian Act of 1876 (itself a treaty violation).

I encourage you all to read a powerful essay by Sharon Venne, an internationally known Cree lawyer and activist for Indigenous rights in Canada and globally. ,

Venne, Sharon. 2008. “Understanding Treaty 6: An Indigenous Perspective.” In Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada: Essays on Law, Equality, and Respect for Difference, edited by Michael Asch. Vancouver: UBC Press.

Also read through this story map about the Papaschase Cree