What makes a sacred space? How do people and institutions mark them (or not)? What makes them legible or recognizable to others? Who has the power to protect them? What knowledge does a sacred space encode, enable, or make possible? Sacred spaces are more than geographic entities or locations. They are sites of spirituality, history, culture, and ways of thinking and being in the world.

Indigenous spiritual sites are not always physically identifiable in the way we often think of them, such as in the form of a church, compound, or temple. Although this kind of marking helps to make them visible in today’s world, many Indigenous sacred sites are not always marked in this way. As a result, Indigenous sacred sites are often rendered non-existent.

This module explores different examples of sacred sites, as well as the struggle to preserve, reclaim, and protect them from colonial exploitation and erasure.