VIDEO: Rep. Brandon Gill Opens The GOP Midterm Convention With A ‘Land Acknowledgement’

U.S. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) opened his remarks at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas on Wednesday with a patriot-themed “land acknowledgement.”

Land acknowledgments have become a recurring feature at many Democratic Party meetings, cultural events, and public gatherings. In those settings, speakers typically name Native American tribes historically associated with a location and describe the land as ancestral or unceded territory.

The practice originated in Australia and Canada and later spread through arts institutions and political events in the United States.

Gill used the same opening structure but directed it at Texas and the United States. “Now, I think it’s only appropriate that we kick this convention off properly with a land acknowledgement,” the congressman began.

“I’d like to acknowledge that we stand here today in the great state of Texas and the United States of America, the ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers, and explorers who put down roots, fought for freedom all over the globe, and bled and died to build the greatest civilization ever known to man.”

Rep. Brandon Gill gave his own take on a "land acknowledgment," during his RNC midterm convention speech, calling the United States the "ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers and explorers."

"My friends, we live in the finest country in the history of the… pic.twitter.com/3KLVMtD9Bb

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“My friends, we live in the finest country in the history of the world, and we’re no longer going to apologize for that,” Gill added.

He went on to contrast that view with what he described as another political movement. “There’s another political movement in our country right now that doesn’t believe that America is, or ever was great,” the congressman said. “They sometimes call themselves socialists, some even call themselves communists, but most of them simply go by Democrats.”

Gill, a first-term Republican representing Texas’s 26th Congressional District in the Dallas–Fort Worth suburbs, is the youngest House Republican. He previously worked in finance after graduating from Dartmouth College and has served on the House Judiciary, Oversight, and Budget committees. His convention appearance came early in the Dallas program at American Airlines Center.

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