Land Acknowledgment

The editors of the present volume acknowledge that this collection has been researched, written, produced—and will be read—from various locations across the world. Many of these locations include lands that are the ancestral, unceded, and treaty territories of Indigenous Peoples in Turtle Island, Abya Yala, and the Americas in their entirety, to the historic lands of Indigenous Peoples in Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, and across the globe. We acknowledge that these lands have been stewarded by these Indigenous communities and nations since time immemorial, and we offer our gratitude to these Peoples.

We recognize, even as we examine the networks created by emigrating Scots, that settler colonial nations continue to benefit from the brutal realities of genocide and forced removal that enabled the original settler colonizers and conquistadores to seize and inhabit these lands. Scottish studies has historically centred white European and settler narratives. Working on this collection has emphasized the need to take steps to centre Indigenous voices in the narratives of diasporic history. Our hope is that this collection can help to open a door for future scholars who may be inspired to pick up those threads to work towards reconciliation with the Indigenous communities touched by Scottish immigration around the world.

The editors acknowledge both the land upon which this volume was created, those lands from which this collection will be read, and the deep-rooted and long-lasting wounds caused by white imperialism and settler colonialism. The harmful effects of these actions continue to hurt Indigenous communities across the world. We also acknowledge that academia itself has often been at the forefront of colonial domination and must therefore reckon with its own injustices.

Indigenous communities are diverse, and the treaties signed with different nations often had different terms and intentions. Different nations have therefore responded and continue to respond differently. We recognize and appreciate that Indigenous political, trade, and kinship relationships extend beyond the geographic boundaries that we commonly assign to distinct communities and nations. However, we would like to particularly acknowledge the Indigenous Peoples whose ancestral lands this volume has touched as it has been developed, as follows:

• The Anishinaabeg
• The Cree
• The Dakota
• The Haudenosaunee
• The Māori
• The Métis
• The Mi’kmaq
• The Nakota
• The Neutral Peoples
• The Saulteaux