by: Ji Ho (Geo) Yang, SESEC Family Program Specialist and PhD Candidate at the University of Washington
The World Cup has been an amazing event that encapsulates so many areas of life and society. Countries from all over the world come together for the joy of the game and competition. Many political, social, and economic issues and conflicts are reflected through the tournament and its participants. People from all facets of life learn and grow joy for the game. Seattle as a host city of World Cup games was a microcosm for many of these dynamics that make the World Cup so captivating, yet complex. I had the pleasure to enjoy a few games in various settings across the city and experienced this microcosm.
My personal sports fandom is wide, yet specific. I default to being a fan of Korea for the World Cup (I am truly an Arsenal fan, however, go you Gunners). However, I am a dedicated fan of all sports of (North) Carolina. This ranges from the Panthers (NFL) and Hornets (NBA), to the University of North Carolina. Recently, the Carolina Hurricanes (NHL) just won the Stanley Cup for the 1st time in exactly 20 years. I watched their playoff runs religiously for many years, and was elated when the Canes crossed the finish line. Side note, the very first Stanley Cup (before the formation of the NHL) was competed for between the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans, which I learned from a small plaque by the Plymouth Church downtown while I was on a break during an undoing racism training.
While rejoicing in the championship joys, I began to have connective reflections with a lingering thought I’ve had. I have been thinking about what a personal and authentic land acknowledgment would mean or look like. I’ve encountered many land acknowledgment practices in different spaces, and engaged in them as part of institutions and organizations. I often ask myself in those moments of acknowledgment, ‘what does it mean or look like for myself?’
The joys of my home state team winning the Stanley Cup made me think about how I am indebted to the indigenous peoples of the Carolinas for my love of (Carolina) sports. My learnings of indigenous peoples of the Carolinas occurred during elementary school. I learned about the three main language or cultural groups of North Carolina: the Siouan, Iroquoian, and Algonquian. I recall learning cursory history about the Catawba and the Cherokee tribes, which are the original peoples of my local area and the neighboring Appalachian mountains of North Carolina. I do recall learning about the impact of European diseases and the formation of the United States on the indigenous peoples of North Carolina. However, I believe I learned more critically about the theft, ethnic cleansing, and genocide of native people later in my adolescence and high school journey. It wasn’t until much later when I moved to Seattle and began my doctoral journey that I reflected on how much of myself is shaped and afforded by the original peoples and stewards of the lands that I have occupied.
Sticking with sports, games are played on indigenous land. Team owners have made their wealth off indigenous land. Stadiums are built through the funneling of money that can be traced to the erasure of indigenous peoples. Fans, like myself, are shaped and occupy indigenous land. Revenue, such as broadcasting and advertisement, is a direct reflection of the continual capitalist endeavor that informed the formation and development of the U.S., which included theft and genocide.
I owe so much of my love of sports, Carolina sports, playing sports, and building community through sports to the indigenous peoples of North Carolina and Washington. The privilege and opportunities afforded to me to engage and love sports are tied to the Iroquoian and Siouan peoples of North Carolina and the Coast Salish peoples of greater Seattle. The erasure of these peoples is the backbone for the country and the lives we live today. My gratitude and acknowledgment to the stewards of the lands that I have called home. I will continue to reflect, grow, and learn as a means to understand the roots that are foundational to me, including the lands that my roots are planted in.
While my internal reflections and growth in “acknowledgments” are specific to me, I was recently pointed out that those reflections are relevant for our city of Seattle. Seattle is a rich sports city, and along with hosting the World Cup games, the city is indebted to the greater Coast Salish peoples. For the opening game in Mexico City, the opening ceremony had the indigenous peoples of Mexico welcome participants and fans to their lands and the games.
For Seattle, how can we honor and acknowledge the indigenous foundations the city is built upon and continues to grow from? The upcoming wealth or Millionaires tax reform could be a start. Tax reforms are critical because the current taxation system does little to recognize and redistribute the immense wealth generated by corporate institutions that benefit from the lands of indigenous peoples and contribute to resource hoarding and resource scarcity in education policies. The conditions that current taxation systems help perpetuate inequities in schooling for marginalized communities, including urban native students and families. Expansion of the John McCoy (lulilaš) Since Time Immemorial curriculum (STI) in Washington and SPS is another opportunity to acknowledge, honor, and ground indigenous foundations of this country through education. STI is a state-mandated curriculum for K-12 that focuses on place-based learning, interdisciplinary learning, and centering of indigenous history. My discussions with teachers across the state and my observations of teaching in various school settings show that the implementation of STI is often lacking or scant. Greater investment in STI curriculum development, professional development for educators and school leaders, stronger partnerships with local tribes, and supporting local CBOs is necessary to make the commitment of STI legitimate rather than surface-level compliance. As will be discussed in my future blog post, working on the hearts of education stakeholders (e.g. teachers, principals, and district leaders) is necessary to making lasting change in habits and practices.
Lastly, urban native students of SPS are so invisible to policy-makers, district leaders, and advocates because those students have a small representation of SPS. Marginalized students of SPS are oftentimes not the largest or significant groups, but sometimes the smallest. This dynamic makes students such as urban natives completely overlooked in data, policy, and assessments. Continual, intentional, and evolving practices around land acknowledgment may serve as a little progress towards making visible marginalized SPS students (only if backed with greater policy considerations and discourse).
About Blog Series: The blog series is aimed at sharing research, concepts, and issues of politics that are deeply embedded in educational advocacy and discourse. As parts of educational advocacy work have been weaponized against justice and equity, it is pertinent for us as advocates to distinguish between ‘real talk’ and ‘orchestrated distractions’ (a possible future blog). More importantly, educational advocacy cannot produce any justice or progress without a serious reflection of ourselves. Unpacking critical concepts, research, and political issues is a foundational way to check ourselves in this work. As this blog series serves as an intimate exercise for me to do that critical self-reflection, I hope that it can serve as a resource for you to learn, question, and reflect (also share)! Thank you so much for taking the time to engage with the series, and please reach out if you have any wonderings, points of dialogue, etc ([email protected]).