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In keeping faith with our indigenous relatives, rather than a ‘land’ acknowledgement we would
like to begin with a ‘Peoples’ Acknowledgment and say we, as non-Natives, are all guests
on North America and honor with gratitude the sacrifices of all Native people still living with us in this territory. We stand in solidarity with them supporting policies that affirm them as sovereign peoples and seek to transcend the pain of the past and create a present that respectfully embraces all of us.
Working Theater’s administrative offices and the venues in which we produce work are situated on stolen land. We acknowledge the many Native and Indigenous tribes of New York, beginning with the Lenape people and including the Canarsie, Matinecock and Rockaway who have been here since time immemorial, long before European colonizers and white settlers seized these lands through violence and unlawful acts.
We pay our respects to the past, present and future generations of the Lenape, Canarsie, Rockaway and Matinecock.
We acknowledge that this city was erected and sustained by the sale of enslaved people of African descent and recognize all those who have been displaced and enslaved through colonization.
Because of the realities of Covid-19 we are working and creating daily with materials mined from the unceded territories of the Ohlone people and other Indigenous and Native nations across this land. Because of the ongoing legacies and impact of settler colonialism and white supremacy, many of the Native and Indigenous communities of those lands do not have sufficient access to the technology that we take for granted.
In our commitment to the work of dismantling the harmful effects of colonization and white supremacy, Working Theater understands that this Peoples’ acknowledgment is only the first step toward honoring Native and all other disenfranchised communities, reconciliation, decolonization and correcting the narrative of the founding of these United States. We pledge to do the work necessary to support Indigenous communities, create more inclusive and welcoming spaces, invite learning, allyship, resource building and care towards strengthening this community of humankind.
What land are you on? Go to native-land.ca to learn about the land and the peoples and write your own land acknowledgement.
The Lenape Center of New York https://thelenapecenter.com
An Indigenous Peoples History Of The United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
Anti-Indianism in Modern America by Elizabeth Cook-Lynn
Our History Is the Future by Nick Estes
Native American Rights Fund: https://www.narf.org
American Indian Community House: https://aich.org
Cultural Survival: https://www.culturalsurvival.org