Land Acknowledgement

A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation. It is also worth noting that acknowledging the land is Indigenous protocol.
http://www.lspirg.org/knowtheland 

Science seeks to uncover the truth, yet many truths, particularly about the history of the land which we occupy and the indigenous peoples who occupied it before, go unacknowledged. What knowledge and truths have we lost and ignored? What opportunities for advancement and cooperation have been thwarted by the painful history of genocide and forced removal of Indigenous peoples in North America? I would like to acknowledge and honor the peoples connected to the lands where I have resided.

I grew up on the traditional homelands of the Onundagaonoga (Onondaga Nation)1. The Onundagaonoga are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign Nations with a historic and contemporary presence2 on what is now called Upstate New York. I attended Northwestern University, which occupies the original homelands of the Council of the Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potwatomi, and Odowa peoples3. There are no federally recognized tribes in what is now called Illinois, nor in Ohio, where I currently live. I currently attend The Ohio State University, which occupies the ancestral and contemporary lands of the Shawnee, Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, and Cherokee peoples. The university resides on land ceded in the 1795 Treaty of Greenville and the forced removal of tribal nations through the Indian Removal Act of 18304. I want to honor the resiliency of these tribal nations and recognize the historical contexts that have and continue to affect the Indigenous peoples of these lands.

I strive to celebrate and honor the achievements of Native American people through my membership in SACNAS, which is an organization dedicated to fostering the success of Native Americans, as well as Chicanos/Hispanics in STEM. I am committed to educating myself about the history of Indigenous and Native American peoples and forced migration from ancestral lands, especially in places where I live, work, and/or perform research. I look forward to fostering relationships with Indigenous peoples where I work in order to co-generate knowledge through a holistic approach. If you’d like to learn more, I encourage you to check out some of the organizations and resources that have helped me, such as SACNAS, LandGrabU.org, and URGE.

References:

  1. https://native-land.ca/
  2. https://www.library.cornell.edu/communications/assets/land-acknowledgement
  3. https://www.northwestern.edu/native-american-and-indigenous-peoples/about/Land%20Acknowledgement.html
  4. https://odi.osu.edu/land-acknowledgment

The Marvelous Mask Mirror

I’m an Executive Board member of the SACNAS (Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in STEM) Chapter at OSU, and our chapter sends out a weekly newsletter with helpful resources and upcoming events. This week, our awesome communications chair Ally Langley included this awesome video that shows the effectiveness of different types of masks! I hope you find it as useful and informative as I did! Wear a mask!