Notes on Beyond Land Acknowledgment: Indigenous Relationality, Land Pedagogy, and Accountability in Settler Institutions

The note emphasizes that land acknowledgments, while a vital justice gesture on Indigenous territories like Kumeyaay lands in San Diego, must move "Beyond" mere symbolic statements to meaningful, relational actions that support Indigenous sovereignty and futures. Settler institutions, founded on colonized land, often produce generic acknowledgments that differ significantly from ancient, evolving Indigenous protocols of mutual recognition, which are deeply relational and reciprocal.

The "Beyond" framework advocates for focusing on three core strands: Indigenous futures (long-term survival), decolonial sovereignty (self-determination beyond colonial recognition), and land relationships (active duties to land and nonhuman beings). Case studies from UCLA and UCSD demonstrate varying approaches: UCLA developed a formal, collaborative acknowledgment with Tongva leadership, while UCSD fostered community-led initiatives like murals and gardens as "land pedagogy," integrating Indigenous knowledge directly into campus life and cultivating ongoing relationality.

The authors provide practical guidance: initiate conversations, craft relational and specific acknowledgments, and embed institutional accountability through policy and resource allocation. The "Kuuyam" (Tongva for guest) concept redefines settlers as provisional visitors with obligations, emphasizing reciprocity rather than inherent ownership. Ultimately, land acknowledgments should be starting points for sustained engagement with tribal governance, fostering Black-Indigenous solidarities, and leading to concrete commitments that advance decolonization and land-based relationality.

Key terms include Indigenous protocols of mutual recognition, territorial acknowledgment, trans-Indigenous recognition, Kuuyam, and land as pedagogy.