Care and the Funny Business of Unsettling Land Acknowledgements

Authors

Salma Monani, Gettysburg CollegeFollow
David S. Walsh, Gettysburg CollegeFollow
Janelle Wertzberger, Gettysburg CollegeFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-21-2023

Department 1

Library

Department 2

Environmental Studies

Abstract

This article points to the “funny business” that invariably accompanies the practice of land acknowledgments. By highlighting the idea of “funny business,” we illuminate its double entrendre – its humor as well as the smoke and mirrors of what The Care Collective ([2020]. The care manifesto: The politics of interdependence. Verso.) describes as “carewashing,” communication strategies designed to proffer a sense of concern, while all the while continuing exploitative practices that deny and obstruct these very concerns. We meld humor with seriousness to interrogate land acknowledgments, expose the perplexing dilemmas of Indigenous and colonial contexts, and push past to work towards responsible relationality between Indigenous communities and settler institutions.

Comments

Authors' Accepted Version will be available on 12-21-24, after a 12-month embargo.

Recommended Citation

Monani, Salma, David Walsh, and Janelle Wertzberger. 2023. “Care and the Funny Business of Unsettling Land Acknowledgements.” Environmental Communication 18 (1–2): 88–93.

Required Publisher's Statement

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Environmental Communication on 12-21-23, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/17524032.2023.2296832.