The University of Manitoba Office of the Vice-President (Indigenous) is hosting a series of territory acknowledgement workshops that are designed to empower university community members to better understand and personalize land acknowledgements. The impetus for the workshops was to move away from land acknowledgements being used in a “rote” manner, explained UManitoba AVP (Indigenous) of Students, Community, and Cultural Integration Christine Cyr: “They need to evolve; they can’t be static.” The workshops cover the history of UManitoba’s acknowledgements, the controversies surrounding land acknowledgements, and considerations and resources for building a personal statement. Cyr explained that acknowledgements should not be the conclusion of an individual’s path to reconciliation, but part of a broader work process: “Your statement today should be different now than in six months.”
