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“Indigenous peoples suffer from injustice and breaches of treaties that cost us our promises; poor health; limited resources and land; high rates of alcohol, drug and suicide. Acknowledging this and committing to change… …very important to the future of Indigenous peoples – we are all a part of it.” –Trennie Birch
land confirmation more and more real.
This custom dates back centuries. But in Denver, they launched in earnest last year in response to a growing number of calls for all agencies to publicly acknowledge that this land wasn’t actually made for you and me. Unless you happen to be one of the native tribes who have managed the land for thousands of years.
Taking the time to restate this irrefutable fact at the start of public gatherings is seen as a step towards creating a fairer society. It’s understandable that empathy cultural organizations are the most responsive to the call — so much so that nearly every show now begins with some very embarrassed (usually white) people, making lists of displaced tribes, the task of May be seen as reluctant, perfunctory, not entirely sincere.
“We acknowledge that we are standing in the ancestral lands of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Ute and Lakota Nation. Now…please put your phone on silent, check out our snack bar at halftime, remember… … taking pictures is punishable by death.”
Check box is selected.
That was early 2022. Land confirmation is rapidly becoming much more than that.
Open last week’s CinemaQ Film Festival, Social Justice Organizer Mimi Madrid Wonder why it took Colorado 157 years to finally rescind a state proclamation that until last year called for and encouraged the killing of Native Americans in Colorado.exist Biomesa new local art biennale, co-founder Ricardo Barca At least 150 peaceful Arapahoe and Cheyenne were slaughtered in 1864 Sand Creek Massacre. Before Disability Affirmation’s Opening Show . Pamalei Theatre Company“Currently produced”rocky horror show,” Artistic Director Ben RanaanThe recognition extends to all those who were forcibly brought to the land and enslaved against their will.
More recently, these land confirmations have become more specific, with heartfelt statements increasingly made by speakers who share ancestry with the tribes that were forcibly displaced. This new approach is enabling moments of greater urgency and authenticity, leading to deeper dialogue, education and understanding.
In many cases, they are just motorized viewing. One recently drew a standing ovation.
“It must be noted that the practice of announcing land confirmation is not alone,” said trainer burch, member of the Nanyute tribe, who wrote Madrid’s thanks for reading on CinemaQ. “It’s an exercise in elevating real histories and stories that are systematically hidden, ignored and often ignored by our education system.” She added that land recognition should be linked to trauma-informed activation, reparation, inclusion and Use with the Justice Initiative.
Burch and Madrid are family fortressa health center for queer Latino, transgender, and bisexual youth— it’s a term This encompasses a long history of sexual and gender diversity in Aboriginal cultures.
Most land confirmations formally acknowledge that the land we now call Denver was unjustly taken from various native tribes prior to Western colonization. But organizations quickly realized there was an opportunity to make a bigger impact through their land recognition. For example, Birch’s statement includes:
“I would like to acknowledge that all tribal nations have suffered genocidal atrocities, including massacres, theft of natural resources, manipulation of food systems, desecration of sacred sites, theft of children and forced assimilation through the U.S. government boarding school system, including the legacy of Fort Lewis College and Grand Junction Indian Boarding School. ”
Efforts are underway to identify students who died while attending Grand Junction Indian boarding school (pictured above in 1900).
If you don’t know what she’s talking about, hopefully you’ll ask. You will learn that a school opened in Grand Junction in 1887 for the forced assimilation of Native American children. If those students spoke their native language, they were beaten. If they run away, they will be chased by a group of people. At least 20 children are believed to be buried there in still unexplained circumstances.
Renowned artist and City State University professor Carlos Frésquez painted his “Un Abrazo” mural on the grass.
Prairie: Art as a Message
Baca is the founder grassland, a news-conscious content marketing agency deeply rooted in local culture, history and artistic creation. Presented by Baca and Jason Diminich Biome: Queen City Biennale Celebrating the fine arts through community, inclusion and exhibitions.
The land affirmation read by Baka at the recent biome event begins with an undeniable historical fact: the peaceful members of the Cheyenne, Ute, Arapaho and other indigenous peoples – hunters and gatherers, farmers and traders – Evicted by white settlers in the 1850s and 60s.
“Some of these settlers were American soldiers who in 1864 killed in cold blood at least 150 peaceful Arapaho and Cheyenne people living on a reservation 180 miles southeast of Denver,” Barca said on his land said in the statement. A congressional committee later found that because the tribes were in peace talks with white officials at the time, they had every reason to believe they were protected by the United States. Still, a massacre occurred, mostly women, children, and the elderly, and the states eventually moved out of Colorado.
Land confirmation doesn’t mean many of you don’t know the story behind the land. For Baca, a former pop music and marijuana editor for The Denver Post, the message from the mural is in the mural as visitors enter Grasslands at 100 Santa Fe Avenue.
Carlos Fresquez’s original commissioned artwork “Un Abrazo” was commissioned by Denver’s Grasslands Agency.
“We provide this important education and serene respect in the form of paintings,” Barca said. It is called”a hug” (“Embrace”), by renowned artist and City State University professor Carlos Frésquez, who called his mural “a wall with tongues; it speaks to all. “
Barca called the fresco “a visual confirmation of the land” in essence. This is a long, horizontal painting based on a Cheyenne serape design that outlines what used to be a watering hole bar called Orlie’s. Baka said the painting “embraces all who walk into the grasslands through the education of the indigenous people of this land.”
Disability-supporting Phamaly Theater Company releases its “Foundation Statement” before every “Rocky Horror Show” performance at Denver’s Su Teatro Performing Arts Center. Above is Matty Umbriaco as Frank-N-Furter.
Phamaly: Meaning is Mission
exist Palmari theater company, a committee set out to develop the land confirmation statement two years ago and brought with it something bigger that encapsulates the company’s overall mission. “We read it not only before every show, but before everything we do, including rehearsals and board meetings,” said managing director Sasha Hutchins, “because we want everything we do to be in this reality-based. “She even called it—”Grounding Statement“—it’s just one component of the company’s larger anti-racism efforts.
Among other things, Phamaly’s statement recognizes the enslaved, disenfranchised, marginalised – “those who have been stripped of all their rights and who are fighting to restore them.” Most importantly, however, it enforces the coercion of indigenous peoples Migration is tied to the reason Phamaly exists as a place for disabled artists to have a home.
“We acknowledge that the people who created Phamaly … human beings of all identities can strive to advance our shared humanity,” the statement reads. It does so by always acting “with respect, courage, boldness, curiosity and love” , further fulfilling the company’s commitment to honor its founders.
It’s not about making anyone listening or reading feel ashamed or guilty, Hutchings said.
“It seems to me that this is our history — good, bad or ugly — and we have to make room to acknowledge that constantly as we make art,” Hutchins said. Because art, she added, “creates a space for people to face uncomfortable things.”
If any company’s land confirmation is seen as merely a show gesture, none of this is worth putting on paper.
“But it’s not performative,” Hutchins said. “this is us.”
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