As a geographer, the land is important to me. I’ve been taught to see how the relationship between people and space can create the identity of a place, but that relationship has never felt as sacred as it did in our trip to Alaska. Seeing firsthand the reverence that the native and ancestral inhabitants of this place had for their land was awe-inspiring. In writing this, I’m hoping that I can pass some of the meaning I found on to you as a way of saying thanks.
The land we all are on is, has been, and will forever be sacred. Just as Jerusalem is holy, so too are the ancestral sites of the tribal peoples of America. I urge you to learn the names of the tribes whose land you reside in and acknowledge it. When you gather for worship, please acknowledge the land where you gather. When you go on a hike and are awe-struck by the scenery you are greeted with, please acknowledge the land you are viewing. And when you see acts of kindness in the world around you, please acknowledge the land on which those acts occurred.
The website native-land.ca was shared with me as a valuable reference for learning the names of those who came before us in whatever part of the country we live in, and I now share it with you. The people I met on this trip and the places I experienced have changed me and made me more aware of the world around me. And while there’s so much I could share, I feel that this was the issue that meant the most to me. As I mentioned, geography is my field of study. I learn the land and I map it, but I found that I sometimes overlooked the soul of that land. After this journey, I feel that is a mistake I will never make again, and I hope that is a lesson I can share with whoever I meet on my journey of faith.