Guided Walk: Walking as Land Acknowledgement

Why we picked it

Join Saulteaux/Métis educator and memory activist Sam Howden and settler scholar and artist Andrew Lochhead on a guided walk, bringing the idea of Land Acknowledgements out of the Bata Shoe Museum’s walls and onto the Land itself, in the area currently known as The Annex. Land acknowledgements can be powerful. At their best, they affirm belonging, recognize ongoing injustices, and help build meaningful relationships between people and the more-than-human world around us. But as these practices become more institutionalized, they can risk feeling routine—words spoken without deeper action toward Indigenous sovereignty or true settler–Indigenous conciliation. Together, we’ll follow the paths of buried streams, discover native plant species and traditional medicines, observe urban wildlife, and explore layers of local history and architecture. Along the way, we’ll reflect on walking as a form of witnessing—and consider the social and political complexities of moving throu