The Land and Us: Rights and Recognition

Speaker: Staci Garber Tuesday, June 20, 2023, at 7:30 pm LIVE at the UPPER Arden Gild Hall AND via Zoom In recent years, a movement has swept through academic and non-profit organizations seeking to recognize the original possession of North America by indigenous peoples. Many institutions have devoted significant time and resources to crafting statements acknowledging the native peoples who inhabited the land on which these brick-and-mortar organizations now exist. Meetings and public events often start with these statements. They are encouraged across website banners and on social media. In Canada, land acknowledgments became more main stream after a 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report (which argued that the country's Indian residential school system had amounted to cultural genocide). They became a regular practice at many events including National Hockey League games, ballet performances, and parliament meetings. Our speaker, Staci Garber, will review several local and national examples of these statements and evaluate the nuances of different types of statements. The audience will also hear from local tribal representatives who have been invited to weigh in on the issue. We will investigate the indigenous presence in the Ardens prior to establishment of the villages. Guest Maureen Ziegler, Director of the Iron Hill Museum and Science Center and member of the Lenape, also will speak about the importance of land acknowledgements. But, how do you make land acknowledgments meaningful? Is it a hollow form of virtue signally without action to back it up? Does it, in fact, do any good, raise awareness? Should the various institutions of the Ardens create land acknowledgement statements? Bring your questions to this interesting last talk of the season and let's engage! Staci Garber is a secondary social studies teacher of more than two decades. A life-long learner, she migrated to Delaware from Nevada and was shocked and dismayed at how little Delaware students knew about the native people of the area. Having always been interested in the information history of North America, she was intrigued by a course in Native and Latinx history in which land acknowledgement was a topic. Staci is an Arden Club member and an Ardensinger. You may have seen her daughters on stage in Alice in Wonderland, her son winning carnival games at Arden Fair, and her husband shopping among the used book sale. The Scholars Gild, a part of the Arden Club, meets the third Tuesday of the month, September through June. We usually use a hybrid live-Zoom model. There are sometimes technical glitches so your patience is appreciated. There is no fee to attend Scholars Gild discussions. We would like to encourage all to make a donation in person or at http://ardenclub.org/donate/. Your support helps keep the virtual and in-person lights on and makes possible dynamic programming like concerts, theater, dance, and of course, our Scholars Gild evenings. Follow the “Arden Scholars’ Gild” on Facebook or email us at [email protected] to join our email list and get all the updates. You can also see recordings of Scholars’ evenings by going to ArdenClub.org or find them on our YouTube Channel at “Arden Scholars Gild”.