(Editor's Notes by Christina Myer - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

I’ll admit it, I’m one of those people who irritates others in a conversation by correcting them if they use outdated language to describe native or indigenous populations, or if they refer to anyone of European descent as having “discovered” the Americas (or as having been the “first” to do something or be somewhere that other humans had already been for centuries — or millennia).

Guilty.

But that’s why I was so glad to see an item I found last week out of the Athens Conservancy. It combines my love of hiking with my need to raise my index finger and say “actually …”

Athens Conservancy nature preserve trails will now feature new signs “inviting visitors to honor the indigenous people who once lived in the area.”

How cool is that?

They are called land acknowledgment signs, and the project is modeled after one in Toronto. If you’ve watched any hockey in recent years you may have seen some of the efforts by Canadian teams on the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, and throughout the season. The single day observance is meant to honor children who were lost to, and survivors of, the residential school system between 1894 and 1947.

“Funded by the Canadian government and run by Christian churches, the schools were intended to isolate Indigenous children from their culture and assimilate them,” NHL.com writer Cristina Ledra reported in 2021. “The last federally funded residential school closed in 1997. The number of Indigenous children that are estimated to have died at these schools is upwards of 30,000, mainly from tuberculosis.”

Facing that piece of our history is an idea that’s gaining more traction.

In Athens County, visitors can place their hands on the trail signs, which include words like “I acknowledge and honor the many indigenous peoples who first called this beautiful land their home.” The signs also include the hashtag #our_ohi_yo, referring to the Iroquois word ohi-yo for “great river.”

They are in the Lindy Roosenburg Preserve, Canaan Preserve and Baker Preserve, but more are planned.

“The signs are the first step in inviting visitors to stop along the trail, take a moment to notice the beautiful forest around them, and think about the people who explored these hills and forests long ago,” Victoria Ellwood, Conservancy spokesperson, said in a press release. “The intention is to recognize those who lived on these lands before us, to honor their history and culture, and to spark reflection and dialogue.”

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com