Early in my Roberson research, I investigated the possibility my ancestors were Melungeons. Strictly speaking, the term Melungeon applies to a group of families who lived in and around Newmans Ridge in Hawkins County, Tennessee. My Robersons, in contrast, lived at Wallens Ridge in neighboring Lee County, Virginia. “Beginning in the early 1800s, or possibly…
Category: Indians
Land Back: Settler FAQ
A lot of people are saying #LandBack. The idea seems to be settlers should give back the land their ancestors stole. I hear about it more from Canadians than Americans, but the idea is circulating in both countries. I’m listening, politely I hope, but I’m not really sure about what I’m hearing. How far do…
Native Lands
I’ve been enjoying the increasing popularity of territorial acknowledgments. Here’s an artcle from CNN: Leah Asmelash. “This app will show you what Indigenous land you’re on.” CNN. Mar. 22, 2021, retrieved Mar. 25, 2021. And here’s the app it recommends. A bit confusing in the way it presents information, but workable: Native-Land.ca As expected, it…
Denver’s Territorial Acknowledgment
I wrote about Canadian territorial acknowledgments a few weeks ago. I wondered about doing them in the U.S. Turns out Denver City Council already does one. Embarrassingly, it also turns out I was at the meeting (via Zoom) when they adopted it (October 26, 2020). I made a mental note to come back later and…
Territorial Acknowledgment
I’ve been thinking about the territorial acknowledgments they do in Canada. They open events and assemblies, particularly in urban and institutional spaces, with an acknowledgment that the land in that area is the the traditional homeland of the ___ people, and that it was ceded under the ___ treaty (or not ceded). We could use…