A Very Precise Signal of Idiocy
Land acknowledgements are my candidate for the most precise signal of idiocy. Case in point was that the Democratic National Committee meeting in the Peoples’ Republic of Minnesota began with one.
It was idiotic even measured against the genre generally:
The DNC acknowledges and honors the Dakota Oyate, the Dakota people, who are the original stewards of the lands and waters of Minneapolis. The Dakota cared for the lands, lakes, and the Wakpa Tanka, the ‘Great River,’ the Mississippi River, for thousands of years before colonization.
The Dakota were in that area for “thousands of years before colonization”? Uhm, not really. General Nelson Miles’ dialogue with Sitting Bull in Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee is far more accurate:
The Sioux were ejected from Wisconsin by the Chippewa (as were the Fox, who were later led by Blackhawk) and then proceeded to terrorize and conquer the people of the lands to which they fled.
Pretty sure the Sioux never gave a heartfelt land acknowledgement. Nor the Chippewa. Nor did any of the myriad tribes that ejected another from its lands (sometimes to be kicked out themselves later).
I recollect someone writing that land acknowledgements merely honor the penultimate conquerer in order to condemn the ultimate one. And this is true. Inter-tribal warfare, conquest, settling and colonization–in other words, all the sins that the land acknowledgers assign solely to whites–were the norm in North America (including the southern reaches thereof–the Aztecs were colonizers who originated further north from Mexico).
I always laugh when people express admiration for Indian warriors and the warrior spirit. Uhm, how did they develop a warrior ethos before the arrival of the whites? Whom were they warring against, exactly? Martians? Or did the mere presence of whites instantaneously transform them from peaceful stewards of the land into fierce fighters?
Land acknowledgements are ahistorical acts of self-flagellation. In other words, idiotic.
Which means it’s not surprising that the DNC embraces them.
The University of Cambridge acknowledges and honours the Catuvellauni who were the stewards of the lands and waters of Cambridgeshire. The Catuvellauni cared for the River Great Ouse, the River Cam, and the Southern Fens for thousands of weeks before colonisation. And before them the Iceni and Corieltauvi, the Trinovantes and Dobunni, the Regni, Atrebates, and Cantiaci.
And then the bloody Eyeties came, and the Krauts and the Danes and the effing Frogs.
Comment by dearieme — August 27, 2025 @ 1:35 pm
I have remarked to my colleagues (thereby making myself unpopular in some quarters) that I would feel much better about land acknowedgements if one of the indigenous participants would stand up afterwards and say something along the lines of “well, thank all of you guys for penicillin, electricity, and the wheel – they are great.” I would prefer to to see the list varied at each gathering. No worries – they won’t soon run out of things they have gained through European (and then global) contact.
Comment by dcardno — August 27, 2025 @ 2:30 pm
@dcardno–Echoes of the classic Life of Brian bit: “What have the Romans ever done for us?”
Comment by cpirrong — August 27, 2025 @ 3:05 pm
@dearime. “Take a number and get in line!”
Comment by cpirrong — August 27, 2025 @ 3:06 pm