MA Thesis

Project Title: Acknowledging the Land: Recognition, Performance and Ceremony in Land Acknowledgements and the Treaty Relationship (tentative)

Description:

My research began by getting curious about land acknowledgements during a conversation while fishing on the banks of the Red River. From there, it turned into a research paper, then to a conference proposal as a Pre-MA student, then a grad school application, and several other conference presentations and grant applications. My thesis intends to link land acknowledgements to the treaty relationship, by arguing that recognition, acknowledgement, ceremony and performance are critical components of the treaty relationship which were well entrenched in Manitoban society prior to the signing of Treaty 1 in 1871. Critics of land acknowledgements point to them as hollow symbolic gestures, but this critique overlooks that performance and symbolism have always been part of the treaty relationship. Thus, to reject a land acknowledgement, is to also dismiss critically important components of the treaty relationship.

My work is broadly centred on both the 19^th century and the contemporary moment, and draws from Indigenous History, Canadian History, Western Canadian History. It deals with themes of colonialism and resurgence. My research is focussed on the context of the local history of the region which we now call Manitoba, which leads to a complicated web of transnational and colonial factions acting within the conventional frameworks of Canadian history.