10/13/2026
Today before our shows at The Connecticut Renaissance Faire I made our indigenous land acknowledgement statement:
"We acknowledge that we are gathering on the ancestral and contemporary homelands of the Mohegan and Pequot nations, as well as broader Algonquian-speaking peoples of southern New England and other less recognized local First Nations; and including Indigenous peoples from all over the world.
We respectfully recognize these people as the original stewards of these lands. We pay our deepest respects to Indigenous elders, and we affirm the sovereignty of these tribes today and always."
We are so privileged to get to stand on a stage and have a microphone in these times, and we think a lot about what we say and do, the messages we share not only through our music and dance, but of course also in the words we say. Speaking these things into existence matters, and it seemed folks in our audiences were grateful to hear these words. Also, children are always paying attention to what we do.
I research and write this statement for every fair where we perform and have been trying to figure out how and when to work it into the show, being that we are usually pretending to be somewhere in England at renaissance fairs. Simply taking a moment to share it on the mic right before we officially started our show worked well today, not trying to slip it in somewhere clever, rather, taking my time, being grounded, and giving it the importance it deserves. I am a time traveling shapeshifting fairy, and even if I wasn't, I believe in the importance of this easy action. I'm backstage between shows working on my pronunciation, because language matters, and I always end up learning something about the tribes whose land on which we are performing. 🙏 small steps and I am always learning.
Today, I’m giving thanks to the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands for generations. To the ancestors who carried the songs, the languages and knowledge, and to those carrying them forward now, despite every attempt to erase and silence them.
There is so much life here to celebrate … young ones learning their languages, elders sharing what they know … whole worlds of knowledge still alive and growing … and there is still so much we are responsible for changing.
The violence of genocide and colonization continues through systems that separate people from their land, their waters, traditional food sources, their families, and their right to practice their ceremonies and live safely. Through extraction, violent borders, racial profiling, unlawful deportation without due process, the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women, and cultural appropriation and racism are all woven into our institutions.
Indigenous relationships to these lands and waters goes back long before the borders. I keep thinking about the stories we were taught, who was celebrated for arriving, who was punished for already being here, and who gets to draw a line across the earth, wielding the power to decide someone’s ancestral home is a place they no longer belong.
So, get to know the ground beneath your feet. Learn the names and histories of the peoples whose homelands you live on. Listen to what those communities are asking for today. Let their voices guide your support.
Stand with Indigenous sovereignty. Protect land and water. Defend the dignity, safety, and rights of immigrants. Put money behind Indigenous artists, businesses, and organizations throughout the year. Support local land funds and the work of returning land to Indigenous hands. Do your own research and think critically.
We all have somewhere we can begin, something we can learn and give. May our gratitude become a practice. May our collective medicine be a healing salve to uplift, empower, and support our Indigenous People’s everyday.
xo bear
