Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge with respect the Seneca Nation, known as the “Great Hill People” and “Keepers of the Western Door” of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. We take this opportunity to thank the people on whose ancestral lands the University of Rochester currently resides in Rochester, New York.
To learn more about ancestral lands upon which we live and work, please check out this website.
For non-Indigenous communities, a land acknowledgment is a powerful way of showing respect and honoring the Indigenous Peoples of the land on which we live and work. Land acknowledgments are just one part of a wider project of restitution, justice, and reparations that resist the erasure of Indigenous histories and bring awareness to Indigenous presence. It recognizes and respects that Indigenous Peoples as the traditional land stewards and the enduring relationship between them and the land. Land acknowledgments do not exist in a past tense, or historical context, however, it needs to be coupled with authentic relationship and informed action.
The Paul J. Burgett Intercultural Center will be working closely with the Office of Equity and Inclusion and community members on a strategic plan to offer suggestions for the University of Rochester on how best to proceed with our action items. If you are interested in learning more about this working group, please feel free to email us bic@rochester.edu.