Acknowledging that what we call the United States rests on stolen land is not performative bullshit. I mean the mumbled land acknowledgments I hear in a lot of “woke” circles.

Anyone doing land acknowledgments is highly aware that this land is stolen. They are well-meant performative rituals to absolve white people of their “original sin.” Are any of the people making land acknowledgments making restitution to Indigenous people? Of course not; it’s just an empty gesture. I’ve done them before, mostly because I feel weird when everyone else is doing them but me.

I support the #LandBack movement to return control to Indigenous people, since this is a concrete way to acknowledge their self-determination. But a rote “I live on Hopi land”? Not so much.