Land Acknowledgment Statement
We recognize and acknowledge that we are on the lands of the Peoria, Kaskaskia, Piankashaw, Wea, Miami, Mascoutin, Odawa, Sauk, Mesquaki, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Chickasaw Nations. These lands were the traditional territory of these Native Nations prior to their forced removal; these lands continue to carry the stories of these Nations and their struggles for survival and identity.
As a land-grant institution, the University of Illinois has a particular responsibility to acknowledge the peoples of these lands, as well as the histories of dispossession that have allowed for the growth of this institution for the past 150 years. We are also obligated to reflect on and actively address these histories and the role that this university has played in shaping them. This acknowledgment and the centering of Native peoples is a start as we move forward for the next 150 years.
Image: Hock E Aye Vi, Edgar Heap of Birds, “Beyond the Chief,” 2008. Three steel panels are arranged vertically; the bottom one is bent. On each panel the words “Fighting Illini” appear as a mirrored image, followed below by the phrase “today your host is.” Each panel then names a different Native American tribe: from top to bottom, Ho Chunk; Sac; Meskwaki. Photo by Jessica Hammie.