Last updated June 28, 2026
On April 14, 2022, I added a land acknowledgment to the Clarity Web Design Studio website. Since then, my business has moved from Nova Scotia to Alberta, expanding my understanding of the diverse Indigenous territories and treaty relationships across Canada. I hope sharing my continued journey encourages you to consider your own.
In May 2021, Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation announced the discovery of 215 unmarked graves at a former residential school, a moment that prompted national reckoning. It was the start of discoveries revealing the tragic history of missing children in Indigenous communities across Canada. Over 1,300 graves have since been found at former school sites.
These discoveries barely scratch the surface of the injustices faced by Indigenous people in this country. As a descendant of settlers, I believe it’s our responsibility to learn about and take meaningful steps toward reconciliation with First Peoples.
My Journey
I grew up near Kainai, part of the Blackfoot Confederacy, yet my education barely touched on the rich history and culture of its people. It wasn’t until I participated in a KAIROS Blanket Exercise in Nova Scotia that I began to grasp, still imperfectly, as a settler, the complexities and ongoing impacts of colonization.
The business operated for ten years in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. In 2025 I moved back to Lethbridge, where I grew up, and the studio is now based on Treaty 7 territory, traditional lands of the Niitsitapi (Blackfoot Peoples). Coming back to the same territory I grew up near, with years of learning in between, has shown me how much was missing from that early picture, and how distinct each Indigenous community’s relationship with its land and treaty history really is.
This ongoing learning, along with reading works by Indigenous authors and completing courses on Indigenous perspectives, reinforced the importance of acknowledgment and respect for all the lands we live and work on. Including a land acknowledgment on your website is one meaningful step toward recognizing the history, presence, and rights of Indigenous communities.
What’s a Land Acknowledgment?
A land acknowledgment recognizes and thanks the Indigenous peoples who have cared for the land since time immemorial, long before Canada existed as a nation. It’s a way to acknowledge colonial history and the ongoing need for change. Acknowledgments differ across Canada based on the diverse Indigenous communities and treaty relationships in each region.
Having operated in both Mi’kma’ki (unceded) and Treaty 7 territory (Niitsitapi lands), I’ve learned how important it is to understand the specific history and relationships in each area. Our current acknowledgment honours both territories and the distinct First Peoples of each region.
Why Businesses Should Acknowledge Land
For businesses, including a land acknowledgment on your website is a small step toward reconciliation. It shows respect and a willingness to learn. But it’s just the beginning. Words without action aren’t enough.
Here are resources that helped me learn:
- Native-Land.ca – Find out whose land you are on.
- Territory acknowledgment – A good resource for starting to consider your own land acknowledgment statement.
- KAIROS Blanket Exercise – Everyone in Canada should experience a KBE at least once.
- Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Calls to Action – 94 calls to action that resulted from the TRC’s report.
- Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action 71 to 76 – Missing children and burial information.
- National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation – Teaching resources, exhibits, and more.
- U of A Indigenous Canada Course – a free, online and open course that I highly recommend.
- Priority Kids Calls to Action Series – a weekly virtual series dedicated to reading one of the TRC’s Calls to Action.
If you’re not sure how to go about adding a Land Acknowledgment to your own website, feel free to reach out.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We are all treaty people.
If any of this landed, the next step is a quick call to talk through your own site.
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