Today, we gather in what we call “Paris” to acknowledge and to honor the land on which we stand, which previously was known by its original inhabitants as…well, we don’t know, because they were Mesolithic hunter-gatherers and they lived 10,000 years ago.
Nov 18, 2022·edited Nov 18, 2022Liked by The 21st Century Salonnière
You have combined a wild and highly informative romp through tens of millennia of tangled French history with some brilliant, incisive satire; brava, I salute you! It's lovely stuff, right up there with Monty Python.
My favorite bits:
"Just don’t ruin the moment by asking any questions about what happened to the Neanderthals"
"For those who don’t get the hint: We’re not, you know, giving anything back to anyone. That would be expensive."
Now, if you could provide us with an equally useful curriculum for diversity training, all would be right with the world!
Well done, Dolly! You have made a very important point while giving us an excellent thumbnail sketch of French history. Is there any land on earth that has been continuously inhabited by the same ethnic/genetic group that lives there now? Probably not, which renders all the talk of land acknowledgments pointless and absurd. Not impossibly expensive, but simply impossible. Ah, but romantic illusions are more palatable than logical thought to a good many people these days...
It really doesn't make sense to me, to make these symbolic acknowledgments. People were harmed, wrong and terrible things happened, but land acknowledgments don't help anyone who suffered the harm.
And yes, everyone lives on land that one belonged to another group, I'm quite sure!
So the Welsh are old -- but not as old as the Western Hunter Gatherers who were also in Britain first. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_people#History. There's a lot of detail but basically, "Recent research on ancient DNA has concluded that much of Britain's Neolithic population was replaced by Beaker people in the Bronze Age.[35] The British groups encountered by the Romans [ie, the Welsh] were thus largely descended from these Beaker populations."
Google Cheddar Man -- the western hunter-gatherers are thought to have had very dark hair and skin, and blue eyes. Ain't nobody like Cheddar Man in England anymore.
Maori people, I don't know much about, but I googled this "Since the late 20th century there have been several intriguing areas of research into both the origins of Māori and their date and mode of arrival. Radiocarbon dating of archaeological settlement sites, analysis of volcanic ash, DNA analysis of Māori females and of the Pacific rat, and reconstruction of ancient Polynesian canoes, have all contributed to recent understanding.
"It is now believed that New Zealand was settled by people from East Polynesia – the southern Cook and Society islands region; that they migrated deliberately, setting off in different canoes, at different times; and that they first arrived in the late 13th century."
So they might have been the first people to arrive on those islands. I don't think there's evidence that they encountered people already there.
That was a tremendously fun way of making the point--with which I agree--that land acknowledgments flatten history and ignore humanity’s tendency to invade and conquer, which has always been with us and didn’t just begin with white people in the sixteenth century. Brava!
I love this so much. I’ve often wondered what a land acknowledgment that wasn’t from the Americas* or Australia would look like. Now I know. Beautiful.
*Do they do land acknowledgments in Latin America? Plenty of them here in the US and Canada, but Mexico? Central and South America? The Caribbean, for that matter?
Thank you for sharing that! There’s something about these which seems so disrespectful, you know? The exact opposite of what people intend.
Edited to add: one of my favorite things about this newsletter are the things I learn from the people who comment and share what they know; so thanks for that!
Land acknowledgements might serve as the perfect centerpiece of elitist stupidity. Of course, each day brings attempts at a new and better version, each one dragging society that one step closer to, The Twilight Zone. But this one will always remain on the table. Adam and Eve must feel dreadfully excluded
The first thing I have to think about hearing "Paris" is Disney (World) , so you certainly gave Paris something, which is implanted in many of Europeans minds
Speaking from my experience everyone except people who spend most of their time online or have other connections to North America don't know about these acknowledgements. Even if Europeans were to benefit from it, the ordinary citizen wouldn't hear a thing - probably.
Although I wouldn't mind claiming some land in Pennsylvania ;)
Is it just another fad of the current woke movement or is it detached from it?
Before important meetings, someone leading the meeting will “acknowledge” that the university was built on land taken from the indigenous people hundreds of years ago.
Of course this is a terrible thing and should be taught in history class, but it takes on a weird quality of virtue-signaling and self-flagellation to announce it.
Almost as if one is attempting to atone for one’s sins by announcing it. And yet, it’s completely symbolic because no one is offering to return these very valuable tracts of land.
It’s a way to do nothing meaningful and yet signal one’s virtue -- those are two diametrically opposed things.
In Germany we have a politically motivated saying "Tue gutes und rede darüber!" which basically means "to do the right thing and talk about it publicly"
Wow I was just talking about this with someone! I always thought it would be a really funny Monty Python sketch to have a Roman legion in Gaul doing land acknowledgments. Nicely done!
“Henry of Navarre, a Protestant king, decided to lay siege to Paris to stop the massacre. He failed —but he converted to Catholicism and was crowned King of France. Go figure.” Paris vaut bien une messe!
Beyond that, as a Francophile, I feel so… dirty. No doubt only sexual relations with a random French maiden will restore me to my original pure state. Ah well -- needs must!
You have combined a wild and highly informative romp through tens of millennia of tangled French history with some brilliant, incisive satire; brava, I salute you! It's lovely stuff, right up there with Monty Python.
My favorite bits:
"Just don’t ruin the moment by asking any questions about what happened to the Neanderthals"
"For those who don’t get the hint: We’re not, you know, giving anything back to anyone. That would be expensive."
Now, if you could provide us with an equally useful curriculum for diversity training, all would be right with the world!
LOL thank you for the suggestions (and the kind comments)! I'll get to work on that...
Well done, Dolly! You have made a very important point while giving us an excellent thumbnail sketch of French history. Is there any land on earth that has been continuously inhabited by the same ethnic/genetic group that lives there now? Probably not, which renders all the talk of land acknowledgments pointless and absurd. Not impossibly expensive, but simply impossible. Ah, but romantic illusions are more palatable than logical thought to a good many people these days...
It really doesn't make sense to me, to make these symbolic acknowledgments. People were harmed, wrong and terrible things happened, but land acknowledgments don't help anyone who suffered the harm.
And yes, everyone lives on land that one belonged to another group, I'm quite sure!
I think some island nations have the original inhabitants, but, yeah, not very common on the main continents
Welsh in Britain and Moari in New Zealand come to mind.
So the Welsh are old -- but not as old as the Western Hunter Gatherers who were also in Britain first. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsh_people#History. There's a lot of detail but basically, "Recent research on ancient DNA has concluded that much of Britain's Neolithic population was replaced by Beaker people in the Bronze Age.[35] The British groups encountered by the Romans [ie, the Welsh] were thus largely descended from these Beaker populations."
Google Cheddar Man -- the western hunter-gatherers are thought to have had very dark hair and skin, and blue eyes. Ain't nobody like Cheddar Man in England anymore.
Maori people, I don't know much about, but I googled this "Since the late 20th century there have been several intriguing areas of research into both the origins of Māori and their date and mode of arrival. Radiocarbon dating of archaeological settlement sites, analysis of volcanic ash, DNA analysis of Māori females and of the Pacific rat, and reconstruction of ancient Polynesian canoes, have all contributed to recent understanding.
"It is now believed that New Zealand was settled by people from East Polynesia – the southern Cook and Society islands region; that they migrated deliberately, setting off in different canoes, at different times; and that they first arrived in the late 13th century."
So they might have been the first people to arrive on those islands. I don't think there's evidence that they encountered people already there.
Imagine losing a race to Cheddar Man
I don’t know if I’d ever get over it
That was a tremendously fun way of making the point--with which I agree--that land acknowledgments flatten history and ignore humanity’s tendency to invade and conquer, which has always been with us and didn’t just begin with white people in the sixteenth century. Brava!
Thanks, Mari!
Since the historical record makes it hard to find the original owner of Paris, I vote that they give the entire thing to me
#Fair
The images are so well-chosen. And your point is so thought-provoking.
I agree, and I also was impressed by how you paid attention to copyright for each image.
Thank you, Kathleen! I had fun choosing the images for this one.
I love this so much. I’ve often wondered what a land acknowledgment that wasn’t from the Americas* or Australia would look like. Now I know. Beautiful.
*Do they do land acknowledgments in Latin America? Plenty of them here in the US and Canada, but Mexico? Central and South America? The Caribbean, for that matter?
I don’t know, but it would be interesting to know. In fact I didn’t know they did them in Australia-- now I learned something new!
Oh, they sure do -- here’s an example, from the Australian Patent Office website: https://pericles.ipaustralia.gov.au/ols/auspat/quickSearch.do
Thank you for sharing that! There’s something about these which seems so disrespectful, you know? The exact opposite of what people intend.
Edited to add: one of my favorite things about this newsletter are the things I learn from the people who comment and share what they know; so thanks for that!
*chef's kiss*
Land acknowledgements might serve as the perfect centerpiece of elitist stupidity. Of course, each day brings attempts at a new and better version, each one dragging society that one step closer to, The Twilight Zone. But this one will always remain on the table. Adam and Eve must feel dreadfully excluded
Their land was stolen from them, so yes.
The first thing I have to think about hearing "Paris" is Disney (World) , so you certainly gave Paris something, which is implanted in many of Europeans minds
For better or worse you decide 🤔
Paris has been colonized by Disney and THAT’s the real tragedy.
I assume Europeans are (happily) unaware of our current fad of “land acknowledgements” here in North America?
Speaking from my experience everyone except people who spend most of their time online or have other connections to North America don't know about these acknowledgements. Even if Europeans were to benefit from it, the ordinary citizen wouldn't hear a thing - probably.
Although I wouldn't mind claiming some land in Pennsylvania ;)
Is it just another fad of the current woke movement or is it detached from it?
Yes it is a fad of the woke people.
It most often happens on university campuses.
Before important meetings, someone leading the meeting will “acknowledge” that the university was built on land taken from the indigenous people hundreds of years ago.
Of course this is a terrible thing and should be taught in history class, but it takes on a weird quality of virtue-signaling and self-flagellation to announce it.
Almost as if one is attempting to atone for one’s sins by announcing it. And yet, it’s completely symbolic because no one is offering to return these very valuable tracts of land.
It’s a way to do nothing meaningful and yet signal one’s virtue -- those are two diametrically opposed things.
In Germany we have a politically motivated saying "Tue gutes und rede darüber!" which basically means "to do the right thing and talk about it publicly"
It's all just games...
Yes!
Nowhere is this institutionalised virtue signalling more in evidence than in the Canadian Parliament.
Wow I was just talking about this with someone! I always thought it would be a really funny Monty Python sketch to have a Roman legion in Gaul doing land acknowledgments. Nicely done!
Brilliant!
Now I want to have the land acknowledgement for the cannibalistic Anasazi.
If any "giving-back" is going to ensue, perhaps we start by giving back Doggerland to its original inhabitants...
“Henry of Navarre, a Protestant king, decided to lay siege to Paris to stop the massacre. He failed —but he converted to Catholicism and was crowned King of France. Go figure.” Paris vaut bien une messe!
Beyond that, as a Francophile, I feel so… dirty. No doubt only sexual relations with a random French maiden will restore me to my original pure state. Ah well -- needs must!
Oh my goodness! What a strategy!!
It certainly calls for some acknowledgment