For this Land and People Acknowledgement I was joined by three guests (Kate Morton, Jasmine Barnes and Stefanos Koroneos.) We met ahead of time and talked about what it means to be a visitor on Indigenous land, and how to be a good guest. We explored our own connections to place, and the families we descend from. I shared with them the respectful personal introduction I have been taught, and invited them to introduce themselves and their ancestors to the land. Each of them followed this by speaking powerfully about how they connect to land through the songs and the stories of their ancestors and personal lived experience. Each story so different, and full of heart. I always find I can see myself in all the stories I hear. It connects me to people, and this time was no exception. Between each guest sharing, I returned and my assembled colleagues sang the River Song.

I like to hear the music of a place by spending time on it, but that wasn’t going to be possible this time as I was flying in on the day of the opening of the conference. The River Song came to me as I looked at arial maps of the area that showed the shape of the river through the land.The melody, the song of the river, was in that shape. After the melody arrived I began to search for language. I know that the language of the people of a place also holds the music and the spirit of the land. I was lucky to mention in conversation with Dr. Lorna Williams that I didn’t know any Lenape speakers and I was at a loss. I was thrilled that she knew people involved in the energizing of the Lenape language and assisted me in finding Ian McCallum, a member of the Munsee-Delaware First Nation. With the assistance of Ian I was able to add language, and the minute I did that the song burst into life

Lunaapeewi siipuw-Lenape River

 xwat-siipuw -Big River

Anushiik- Thank-you

I know that singing in public is terrifying for most people, but I also know the power of drumming on your body, breathing and releasing your voice. I trusted the drum in my hands, and the feeling of the vibrations of all our voices in the room that day, and we sang. We sang to the river. To the land. And each other. We felt ourselves as community, as humble visitors to the beautiful territory of the Lenape. It was an honour to be part of this opening ceremony.