I live as an uninvited guest in Moh’kinsstis (colonially known as Calgary) which is located in Treaty 7, the land of the Siksika Nation, the Piikani Nation, the Kainai Nation, the Îethka Stoney Nakoda Nation (consisting of the Chiniki, Bearspaw and Goodstoney Nations), the people of the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Métis. I am grateful for the land defenders and water protectors who have cared for this sacred place from time immemorial. 

Land acknowledgements can function to concretize colonial claims to lands through a refusal to engage in decolonial processes that require land to be returned, and for Indigenous sovereignty to be respected. It is my responsibility to do more than acknowledge my place on these lands, and to work in solidarity with Land Back movements.