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Land Acknowledgement

Land Acknowledgements are not only to be used for introducing events or to open space. There must be a thoughtful commitment moving forward to the communities we are recognizing. When offering a Land Acknowledgement we must then follow with ongoing responsibility and engagement.

Provisional Land Acknowledgement

WWCC is working with the local tribes to create language that can be incorporated into all campus events to acknowledge the history, people, and lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Nez Perce people.

The following statement is offered as suggested language (which includes shared language from SBCTC) to use until there is an WWCC-adopted statement for our community to recognize this land and our history; to honor the people past and present who belong to this place; to create common and consistent language for our events and ceremonies; and to have language that was crafted with care and wisdom.

We respectfully acknowledge that Walla Walla Community College is located on the native lands of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people and the Nez Perce tribe. We ask you to join us in acknowledging and celebrating the ancestral land, communities, elders, and the past, present, and future generations of the First Peoples across our nation. Please take this time to honor these ancestral grounds by expressing gratitude for the people who have stewarded and continue to steward this land throughout the generations, and by celebrating the resilience and strength that all Indigenous people have shown and continue to show in our region and beyond. May our time together be spent in recognition and support of our Native brothers and sisters.

Moving beyond acknowledgment

Moving beyond the gesture of acknowledgement is critical to ensure that our acknowledgement is not just a gesture. There are many ways to engage in this process; here are some suggestions to get started:

Learn about the Indigenous peoples in your area and the land treaties (resources below).
Recognize how colonialism is an ongoing process and that the practice of mindfulness and reverence of the land is indigenous protocol.
Discuss oppression and privilege to disrupt colonization and assimilation.
Make connections to the environment and the impact it has on people, health, wellness, and community.
Recognize people as caregivers of the land and identify sustainability practices in curriculum content.
Recognize the power of representation within the curriculum content and challenge it with resources/readings/references of different thoughts/behaviors/people.
Learn about different cultures and visit different cultural spaces.

Additional Resources

Native-Land.ca is a website run by the nonprofit organization Native Land Digital, with a mission to map Indigenous lands in a way that changes, challenges, and improves the way people see the history of their countries and peoples
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR)
Nez Perce Tribe