real lit land acknowledgement by UW Tacoma Library

This project was created as a result of conversations following the practice of reading a land acknowledgement at the beginning of Real Lit[erature] book club meetings. In the wake of these acknowledgements, there was a continual sense of a conversation started but never finished. Our group wanted a way to go beyond the bullet point in our meeting agenda.

It’s important to note that we didn’t want to replace the practice of land acknowledgement. Starting each book club meeting with these words is an essential reminder of how we’re inhabiting space- virtual and physical- and the systems of violence and oppression that have built them. But, in addition to these systems, the land acknowledgement prompts action upon reflection. It asks questions like: what would it look like to give land back? What role do we have to play? How can stories (like the ones we’re reading) imagine new ways of engaging with the world around us for radical and revolutionary change?

So with a “where can we go next?” lingering in the air as we started every conversation, I thought that compiling a list of suggestions and resources would be a good place to start.

As it notes at the bottom of the above document, these action items primarily suggest opportunities for self-education and, while learning the history of the land is a vital foundational element to making land acknowledgements actionable, this tool is meant to be a starting place rather than a final destination. It’s also meant to spark ongoing conversation and ideas for going beyond the land acknowledgement.

Almost all of the suggested actions and learning resources included on this document came directly from the websites and resource guides made by the Indigenous tribes we acknowledge in our Real Lit[erature] meetings. If you’re interested in exploring their resources on your own, I would highly encourage you to do so!

Muckleshoot Indian Tribe Logo

Nisqually Indian Community Banner

We would love to see you at future Real Lit[erature] Meetings to chat about other ways to go beyond the land acknowledgement and, of course, books! This Fall Term we’re reading These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall.