Intercultural Center

What is a Land Acknowledgement?

A land acknowledgement is a formal statement and a small but meaningful gesture to recognize indigenous populations and their relationship to the land. It serves as an effort to call attention to the important historical and contemporary relationships of Native inhabitants who were traditional stewards of the land. While it may seem inadequate in many ways, to simply make mention of the painful history of violent oppression of Native populations connected to this land, it is even less adequate to avoid the acknowledgement altogether.

Land acknowledgements usually occur at the beginning of a formal or informal gathering, and have become normative in numerous other countries around the world. Use of this land acknowledgement is encouraged for UM-Flint at all events.

This land acknowledgement has been developed through conversations with several faculty members as well as Indigenous students, alumni, and community members. With that said, we welcome any feedback on this acknowledgement; you can leave your feedback by emailing us.

Land Acknowledgement

We would like to acknowledge that the land we are meeting on today is the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary homeland of many Indigenous nations, most recently the Anishinabek (including Potawatomi, Chippewa/Ojibwe, and Odawa) tribal nations.

We acknowledge the painful history of genocide, forced relocation, and removal of many from this territory, and we honor and respect the many Indigenous people, including those of the Three Fires Alliance, who are still connected to this land on which we gather.