Acknowledging Native Space
The First Nations Educational & Cultural Center and the Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Multicultural Affairs are proud to support Native students in their pursuit of community and success at Indiana University. One way that campus partners can help promote a welcoming and informed community is by offering a land acknowledgement statement as part of an official welcome at the beginning of public meetings, presentations, and gatherings.
While Indiana University has not yet adopted an official land acknowledgement statement as part of university policy, the First Nations Educational & Cultural Center has developed one with campus partners and in consultation with IU’s First Nations Leadership Ambassadors Council:
[I/We/Indiana University] wish/es to acknowledge and honor the indigenous communities native to this region, and recognize that Indiana University – Bloomington was built on indigenous homelands and resources. [I/We/Indiana University] recognize/s the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people as past, present, and future caretakers of this land.
A shorter version of this statement can also be used:
[I/We/Indiana University] wish/es to acknowledge and honor the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee people, on whose ancestral homelands and resources Indiana University was built.
