Pop star Taylor Swift kicked off the latest leg of her “Ellas Tour” in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday with a “Land Acknowledgment” notice played on a giant screen on stage, confirming that the concert will be held on land that was allegedly stolen. He warned fans that this was happening.
“Today, we authorize you to perform at the Rogers Center on Treaty 13 land,” a notice appeared on the screen. “We recognize the original and treaty territories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples on whose behalf we call home.”
The Canadian treaty mentioned in the notice was part of the 1805 Toronto Purchase, which facilitated the British government's purchase of land from the Indigenous Mississauga Tribe on which Toronto and the city's Rogers Center are now located.
The treaty and land purchase also included housing for other tribes, including the Anishinaabeg, Haudenosaunee, Chippewa, and Wendat.
This isn't the first time Swift has kicked off a concert tour by letting fans know she's standing on “stolen” land.
According to signboardSwift also held a portion of her concert in Melbourne, Australia, reminding fans that she was on land once occupied by the country's Aboriginal people.
However, many Indigenous activists feel that these notifications are pointless and actually contribute to lowering rather than increasing awareness.
“If it becomes routine, or worse, completely performative,” said Kevin Gover, a member of Oklahoma's Pawnee Nation and assistant secretary for museums and cultural affairs at the Smithsonian Institution, If so, it makes no sense at all.” told NPR last year. “It goes in one ear and goes out the other.”
The governor added that the notification may also discourage some Indigenous people.
“When you hear about land acknowledgments, part of it is, 'There used to be Indians living here.' But now they're gone. Isn't that shameful? And I think that I don’t want to be made to feel like that,” he said.
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