Land Acknowledgment

Indigenize Indiana

Indigenize Indiana is a call to action that promotes an active Native presence and engagement with contemporary Indigenous leadership and communities. Beyond amplifying Indigenous voices and social movements, Indigenization seeks to transform systems that have historically ignored, excluded, or marginalized Native perspectives.

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Understanding Indigenization

At IU Bloomington, Indigenize Indiana encourages the campus community to strengthen representation of and support for Native and Indigenous peoples. Centering the federally recognized Tribal Nations whose ancestors originally inhabited this land is an important step toward addressing the colonial narratives that have contributed to the erasure of Native peoples in Indiana and throughout the United States. As more individuals and offices recognize Native spaces and presence, we hope to create a campus environment where Native American students, faculty, and staff feel welcomed, valued, and supported.

Land Acknowledgments as a call to action

Offering a land acknowledgment is one way to recognize Native spaces and foster greater awareness across campus. The First Nations Educational and Cultural Center and the Office of Student Life encourage individuals, offices, and departments to engage thoughtfully with land acknowledgment statements and use them in meaningful ways at public meetings, presentations, and gatherings.

Rather than relying solely on a campus-wide statement, First Nations Educational and Cultural Center encourages offices and individuals to develop acknowledgments that connect their work to the Native communities they are recognizing. These statements should serve not as an endpoint, but as a starting point for education, reflection, relationship-building, and action.

The land acknowledgment used by the First Nations Educational and Cultural Center was developed in consultation with campus partners and IU's First Nations Leadership Ambassadors Council. Guided by the Treaty of St. Mary's (1818) and informed by Land Cession #71, it recognizes the Native Nations whose lands became the site of Indiana University. The statement is continually reviewed and revised and serves as a framework for FNECC's programming, partnerships, and ongoing commitment to Native communities.

The statement provided below uses tribal names in both their Indigenous languages, as well as their Anglicized forms.

We wish to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that Indiana University Bloomington is built on Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the myaamiaki, Lënape, Bodwéwadmik, and saawanwa people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

We are dedicated to centering Indigenous voices & perspectives, improving community relationships, correcting the narrative, and making the IUB campus a more supportive and inclusive place for Native and Indigenous students, faculty & staff. We encourage everyone to engage with contemporary communities, to learn the histories of this land, to look at who has and does not have access to its resources, and to examine your own place, abilities, and obligations within this process of reparative work that is necessary to promote a more equitable and socially just Indiana University Bloomington.

Shortened version:
We wish to acknowledge and honor the myaamiaki, Lënape, Bodwéwadmik, and saawanwa people, on whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University Bloomington is built.

We wish to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that Indiana University Bloomington is built on Indigenous homelands and resources. We recognize the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

We are dedicated to centering Indigenous voices & perspectives, improving community relationships, correcting the narrative, and making the IUB campus a more supportive and inclusive place for Native and Indigenous students, faculty & staff. We encourage everyone to engage with contemporary communities, to learn the histories of this land, to look at who has and does not have access to its resources, and to examine your own place, abilities, and obligations within this process of reparative work that is necessary to promote a more equitable and socially just Indiana University Bloomington.

Shortened version:
We wish to acknowledge and honor the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people, on whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University Bloomington is built.

Resources

First Nations has worked with many offices and individuals across campus as they have developed their own land acknowledgment. Acknowledging Native spaces and histories and connecting with Native communities is something best done when it reflects one’s own values, intentions, and understandings. We are happy to meet and discuss this further, as well as connect anyone with information or resources.

It is important to remember that the best source when looking for information regarding Native communities is the communities themselves. Please take the time to review these tribal websites, learn about these Native communities, and look for ways that you can help contribute to the work that is being done.