Territory Acknowledgments
The University of Victoria campus resides on the territory of the Lekwungen and WSÁNEĆ nations. The university, and its students have benefited off of this beautiful land, which had been known as the village of the Sungayka, which means snow patches and was home to the Checkonien, a Lekwungen family. The Native Students Union recognizes the injustices upon local lands and peoples and the benefits we reap from them. We encourage students to give back what they can to the land and its people when possible.
The W̲SÁNEĆ
SENĆOŦEN Speaking
W̲SÁNEĆ (Saanich) has been divided into 4 First Nations with their own reserves and governments, but are still part of one nation. The W̲SÁNEĆ are known as the Emerging People.
The W̲SÁNEĆ people consist of these communities:
Tsawout (SȾÁ,UTW̱)
Tsartlip (W̱JOȽEȽP)
Pauquachin (BOḰEĆEN)
Tseycum (W̱SÍḴEM)
How to Give a Territory Acknowledgement
Check out this web page from Native-Land.
Native-Land is also a good resource to roughly find out what territories an area is on from a map.
Native-land is able to show you which nations' land you are on. Many nations have overlapping territories because the lands were shared or partially shared. Due to the complex nature of historical and current mapping, there may be inaccuracies on this map, however it is an ongoing project and they do take feedback as well as donations.
In Coast Salish territory, there are often different teachings on which land is part of which nation and it's important to know that the imposed Canada-US boarder has terribly impacted the nations who have families on both sides. It's okay to acknowledge the territory the best way you know how, and if someone offers you new information about the lands, please learn from it.
Hear more about territory acknowledgements in this episode of U in the Ring, from the campus radio station, CFUV.
Episode Details
Have territorial acknowledgements on campus become meaningless? We talk with students, professors, and organizers about why we do them, and the important connection between territorial acknowledgments and direct action.