Published: July 12, 2022

Here at ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder, you may have noticed that some of your professors, colleagues, or peers have included a land acknowledgement statement in their email signatures. Recognizing the history of the land that ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder now resides on is an important way for us to honor Native American communities that once cared for this land.

In late 2020, the University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ system after taking the time to connect with and consult with Native American staff, faculty, and students across the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ System.

An excerpt of the ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ statement reads: “We respect the many diverse Indigenous peoples still connected to this land. We honor them and thank the indigenous ancestors of this place. The University of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ pledges to provide educational opportunities for Native students, faculty and staff and advance our mission to understand the history and contemporary lives of Native peoples.â€

Here in Boulder, our ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ campus is built on the traditional territories and ancestral sites of , , and nations. On campus, the Cheyenne Arapaho residence hall honors the . The hall, originally named after , was renamed in 1989 after protests of his involvement in the settlement of ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ regions at the expense of the Native Peoples, and his involvement in the . By renaming this hall, we acknowledge the contributions the Native American nations made as the original inhabitants and caretakers of our ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ lands.

The Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies, or CNAIS, has taken the charge to further develop ÃÛÌÇÖ±²¥ Boulder’s Land Acknowledgement statement and work towards concrete actions to address historical inequities.

Using the land acknowledgement statement recognizes . It also helps to protect against the erasure of the history of our Indigenous communities.