About Us

We Bring Our Minds Together As One 

Ne ne entitewatáhsawen taietharàhkwe' niionkwarihwá:shona'. Ne kati wahi wetitewatatenonhwerá:ton. Tsi niiókhsats nón:wa wenhniserá:te ionkwakia'taró:ron ne iorihwá:ke ne aitewaka'eniónnion tsi niohtonhá:kie tsi na'titewátere ne onkwehshón:'a tánon' tsi ni:ioht tsi rokwatákwen ne ohontsià:ke. Ne ne á:ienre'k akwe:kon sken:nen tsi tewanonhtón:nionn ne tsi niionkwè:take kenhnón:we iahitewaia'taié:ri oni tsi ionkwata'karí:te iah thahò:ten tekionkwakia'tónkion nen'ne kanonhwa'kténhtshera'. Ne kati ehnón:we iorihwá:ke tsi entewátka'we ne kanonhweratónhtshera. 

Ehtho niiohtónha'k ne onkwa'nikón:ra. 

Today we have gathered, and it is so beautiful that we still see the cycles of life continuing for our benefit. We should be reminded today of where we come from, how we came to be, and what our predecessors have given us so that we may have a path in this life. We have a big responsibility. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things; to strengthen our relationships; to gather up all that is most precious in our experiences and hold them up in gratitude. We must each search within our individual minds for solutions to address the collective issues that confront us. This is how we continue forward in peace and lovingfulness. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. 

Native American and Indigenous Initiatives Working Group 

On May 1, 2023, the Native American and Indigenous Initiatives Working Group, co-chaired by Dr. Jessica Guzman-Rea, Assistant Dean for Diversity & Director, Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center and Dr. Brianna Theobald, Associate Professor of History & Director of Graduate Studies submitted our Final Report & Recommendations. 

Land Acknowledgement 

In recent years, institutions of higher education across Canada and the United States have adopted land acknowledgements as a means of combating Indigenous erasure, signaling a commitment to relationship-building and reciprocity, and confronting an institution’s position in relation to histories of dispossession. Land acknowledgements can be useful educational tools, and they can foster a sense of inclusivity and belonging for Indigenous students and others. One Haudenosaunee undergraduate told us, for example, that a land acknowledgement would make them “proud to go to school here.” 

And yet we offer this recommendation with a note of caution. Land acknowledgements should not be a substitute for meaningful action. Land acknowledgements that are strictly performative or perfunctory are inadequate and can even be harmful. We propose the adoption of the below land acknowledgement as a first step that should be coupled with other substantive, material commitments, such as staff and faculty hiring. 

As land acknowledgements should be more than a rote repetition of words, we offer a two-part template intended to encourage thoughtfulness regarding the realities the acknowledgement articulates. 

Part One

We first recommend a simple statement that anyone on campus can utilize as a stand-alone land acknowledgement and offer one example of what this statement might look like: 

The University of Rochester sits on the homelands of the Onöndowa’g:a’ (Seneca) Nation, the “Great Hill People” and “Keepers of the Western Door” of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. As an institution, we recognize the injustices that disrupt their stewardship of this land to this day. We honor and respect these lands and the Onöndowa’g:a’ people’s ongoing claims and connections to them. 

Part Two

Given the importance of meaningful action, we encourage the university, as well as individual departments, organizations, or affiliated entities to draft a more specific second paragraph that explicitly considers what this acknowledgement means for their work, with examples of concrete actions and, when possible, links to those items. We offer one example of what this second paragraph could look like for the University of Rochester: 

As an institution of higher education with a robust medical center, the University of Rochester acknowledges the importance of preserving the wisdom and knowledge of Indigenous peoples for present and future generations. We also recognize the ongoing impacts of colonization and systemic racism. Acknowledging this is a step towards creating a more inclusive and equitable environment for our students, staff, faculty, patients, and visitors. By fostering stronger relationships with local Indigenous communities; providing opportunities for collaboration, education, cultural competency training; supporting Indigenous-led research projects and initiatives; and creating on-campus resources such as scholarships and financial support for Indigenous students, institutions can help rectify historical injustices. We recognize the importance of these actions and pledge to work towards implementing them as we strive to create a more equitable, inclusive, and just community.