You settle into your hotel room, turn on the TV, and see the hotel’s homepage display a land acknowledgment. As you explore the city, you notice land acknowledgments at museums and local businesses, and contemporary Indigenous art and exhibits are everywhere. It happens to be National Reconciliation Week. At your next destination, just a short plane ride away, Indigenous art and language are prominently featured in public signage and on TV. You feel awe, peace, and hope — this is not a dream. This is present-day Sydney, Australia, and New Zealand. These societies are deeply engaged in land acknowledgment and much more. Suddenly, L.A. County’s recent adoption of a land acknowledgment feels like a tangible first step on the path to healing and reconciliation, and LACDMH is well-positioned to lead the way.

On November 1, 2022, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors unanimously adopted a Land Acknowledgment for the County. You may have heard it at County events, or most recently from Director Dr. Lisa H. Wong at our last LACDMH Town Hall meeting. You may be wondering: Why should I care?

At its core, the Countywide Land Acknowledgment centers the First Peoples by honoring their strength, resilience, and ongoing contributions to Los Angeles County. It emphasizes that they are still here and remain connected to their ancestral lands. Land acknowledgments can create space for truth-telling and pave the way for action and healing — if we let them.

During a nine-month engagement process, local tribes helped shape the acknowledgment and contributed to a report titled We Are Still Here: A Report on Past, Present, and Ongoing Harms Against Local Tribes (known as the Harms Report). This report reflects their thoughts, needs, and recommendations for how L.A. County can begin to address past wrongs, restore relationships with the land and people, and dismantle systemic barriers.

Building on these efforts, the Countywide Land Acknowledgment Implementation Guide offers practical advice on delivering acknowledgments and, more importantly, guidance on moving beyond words. While LACDMH operates the American Indian Counseling Center, there is much more we can do to improve the mental health outcomes of American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) communities — outcomes deeply impacted by settler colonialism and the disruption of traditional healing systems. By engaging with AIAN staff and consumers, we have the chance to make meaningful, systemic commitments to Anti-Racism, Inclusion, Solidarity, and Empowerment.

How will you commit to learning and taking action?

 

Submitted by Dr. Andrea N. Garcia, co-chair of DMH’s Anti-Racism, Inclusion, Solidarity and Empowerment (ARISE) Staff Advisory Council.