In a two-minute segment that has received close to 375,000 views on YouTube the Baroness von Sketch Show skewers the performative allyship that often underlies land acknowledgements. First Nation playwright and performer Cliff Cardinal also deploys humour to throw light on the hypocrisy behind many land acknowledgements. His critique is less gentle mocking and more fierce, unsettling truth-telling about Canada’s ongoing colonization project. When he first performed his solo play “William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, A Radical Retelling” (recently touring as “The Land Acknowledgement, Or As You Like It”) in Toronto in the autumn of 2021, the discomfort of some audience members drove them to the exits and to request a refund.
We have also been known to criticize mindless land acknowledgements that lack serious calls to action. Nonetheless, many Indigenous people would agree that land acknowledgements have an important place in the national discourse. They name uncomfortable truths in a public forum and invite Canadians to consider how they might take personal responsibility for their country’s historical and ongoing lack of respect for Indigenous rights.
For this reason, a lawsuit recently filed at the Supreme Court of British Columbia is deeply troubling. Four tenured University of British Columbia faculty members and a recent graduate have asked the Court to forbid UBC from declaring or acknowledging that it is located on “unceded Indigenous land”. They also want the Court to prohibit UBC from requiring or encouraging others to declare or acknowledge the land is unceded and oppose the University’s stance on diversity, equity, and inclusion and the Palestine-Israel conflict.
The professors argue that by declaring or acknowledging UBC is on unceded Indigenous land, UBC is offside of the provincial University Act’s requirement that the University be “non-sectarian and non-political in principle.” Their argument is that land acknowledgements are political statements that silence them and other professors who believe Canada is fully sovereign over the lands of British Columbia. They argue that UBC has created an environment where academics who disagree have difficulty securing a teaching position, a promotion and tenure.
Acknowledging that UBC is on unceded territories is not a political statement—it’s a recognition of fact and law. This is not a question of differing opinions over which reasonable people can disagree. The Canadian Supreme Court in the 1973 Calder decision recognized Aboriginal title as part of Canadian law. Aboriginal title exists where Indigenous people have not ceded, i.e. yielded or given up, their legal interest in their land to Canada. Because of this legal and factual reality, Canada and British Columbia have expended millions of dollars negotiating modern-day treaties. UBC’s Vancouver campus is situated on the unceded territory of the Musqueam Nation and its Okanagan campus is situated on the unceded territory of the Syilx Okanagan People. Canada does not have a treaty with Musqueam nor with the Syilx Okanagan Nation and its member communities.
UBC’s campuses are on unceded territory—full-stop. This is not a matter for debate, alternative viewpoints or ‘alternative facts’—it’s a matter of law and history. Acknowledging this reality is not a political statement. Denying this truth and seeking to silence its recognition most certainly is.
Denialism comes in many forms. From the Papal Bulls of the late 15th century that led to the Doctrine of Discovery to Canada’s genocidal residential schools policy, Indigenous people have been subject to the denial of their rights and their very humanity. The UBC professors’ lawsuit is the latest example of this long, shameful legacy. It’s a warning shot that signals any progress made towards reconciliation is vulnerable to the same reactionary forces that have gained momentum with the return of Donald Trump to the White House. Support for truth-telling and affirmative action is beginning to crack. Recently, one of Canada’s most prestigious national law firms ‘paused’ its hiring program for Black and Indigenous law students. Private and public sector institutions in Canada have a responsibility to maintain and defend the hard-fought progress that has been made based on Indigenous people’s strength, goodwill and willingness to tolerate and negotiate with settlers.
Politicians are also responsible. Aside from the occasional statement in support of ‘economic reconciliation’, we have heard little from the federal parties on what their government will do to ensure Indigenous rights are respected and reconciliation moves from rhetoric to reality. It’s up to Canadians to insist that their politicians make their views known on these important issues before they cast a ballot on April 28th. Do they endorse the regressive intimidation advocated by the UBC professors or will they commit to the hard, uncomfortable work of truth-telling?
Responsibility to defend truth-telling extends beyond our institutions and those who seek public office—every one of us from coast-to-coast-to-coast is responsible. Canadians are rallying around the flag in response to Trump’s threats to make Canada the 51st state. They are filled with a renewed pride in the principles, values and institutions that differentiate Canada from the United States. This renewed national pride must include support for one of the fundamental differences between the two countries—Canada’s constitutional protection for Aboriginal rights and its willingness to confront its painful history of colonization.
As with the audience members who walked out on Cliff Cardinal, these UBC professors can always vote with their feet. They are uninvited guests on Musqueam’s and Syilx Okanagan’s territory. If they cannot bear to acknowledge that fundamental truth they can always leave. If they choose to stay and benefit from UBC’s unsanctioned occupation of unceded territories, they are morally and intellectually obligated to acknowledge their personal complicity in the unlawful displacement of the Musqueam and Syilx Okanagan. At the very least, they cannot be allowed to silence others who are committed to the hard, uncomfortable work of reconciliation.
The Honourable Harry S. LaForme is a member of Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation and the first Indigenous appellate court judge in Canadian history.
Bruce McIvor is a member of the Manitoba Métis Federation. His latest book, Indigenous Rights in One Minute: What You Need to Know to Talk Reconciliation will be published in May.
First Peoples Law is a law firm dedicated to defending and advancing the rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. We work closely with First Nations to defend their Aboriginal title, rights and Treaty rights, uphold their Indigenous laws and governance and ensure economic prosperity for their members.
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