A Land Acknowledgement serves to name the Native peoples who through political structures, war, or other exploitation suffered hardship and were made to be invisible. It helps us to respect the ongoing presence of tribal peoples in our communities and the debt of gratitude we owe them.

Land Acknowledgement – Marywood Campus

The Dominican Sisters and Associates of Grand Rapids acknowledge Aquinas campus and our Marywood campus as gifts of the Great Spirit’s creation and the ancestral home of the Anishinaabe: the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Bodewadmi tribal peoples* of the Three Fires Confederacy.

These indigenous tribes lived on, built a relationship with the earth, and cared for creation’s gift. Land acres now known as Michigan were stolen from Indigenous Peoples through misunderstood treaties, broken promises, and forced removal.

We lament the violence caused by past actions of encampment and displacement. We apologize for these wrongs and prayerfully support and value Native American peoples and their homeland.

We benefit and appreciate the sacred presence, beauty, and sounds of nature here. Dominican Sisters and Associates ~Grand Rapids pray, study, minister, and form community on this holy ground.

We strive to grow in awareness of our debt to native peoples past and present.

* Names now in common usage are Ottawa, Ojibway and Potawatomi

 

What is a “Land Acknowledgement”?

A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement given at the beginning of organized events or celebrations which recognizes the Indigenous people who built a sacred relationship with the earth in this place before settlers colonized the land. It serves to name the Native peoples who through political structures, war, or other exploitation suffered hardship and were made to be invisible. It helps us to respect the ongoing presence of tribal peoples in our communities and the debt of gratitude we owe them.

Who may use a “Land Acknowledgement”?

Anyone speaking or meeting on the Marywood Campus is encouraged to use the Land Acknowledgement at the start of a program. The Abbreviated Land Acknowledgement may be used at the end of an e-mail by a writer working “on this land”.