Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Glen Hare offers land acknowledgement and welcome
CBC News | Posted: June 2, 2020 12:44 PM | Last Updated: June 2, 2020
Anishinaabemowin land acknowledgement and welcome written by Anishinaabe elders
Sometimes at the beginning of news conferences or public events, land acknowledgement announcements and welcome greetings are made by local Indigenous leaders.
At a May 2019 news conference at Laurentian University in Sudbury, an announcement was made about a project to repatriate 200 pieces of art created by children who had attended Indian day schools or residential schools.
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief, Glen Hare was there to offer the following land acknowledgement in Anishinaabemowin and a traditional welcoming.
"We are in Lake Huron region territory and we have Whitefish Lake and Wahnapitae as our neighbouring communities that share this land here and Sudbury's right in the middle of it. I want to say miigwech to our brothers and sisters for visiting them on their lands here today."
"The elders wrote what I just read," said Hare. "It's a thanksgiving and a prayer. We read this no matter where we sit — with the prime minister, with the premier, with all government officials," he added.
"Basically, what it tells us is that every morning when we get up, these are our responsibilities. It's not only us, it's everybody in this country. These are the responsibilities that we have beyond these doors."
Hare went on to list the Seven Sacred Gifts given to the Anishinaabe by the Creator to guide them: love, truth, respect, wisdom, humility, honesty and bravery.
"The Creator also gave us sovereignty to govern ourselves," explained Hare.
"We respect and honour the past, the present and the future."