Home Toggle Search Menu Home About Land Acknowledgment ⚠ COVID-19 Response Information Land Acknowledgment Creating the St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment In November 2020 the University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment Committee forwarded its statement and recommendations to the faculty and senior leadership to establish the institution's Land Acknowledgment. The committee designed the statement to not only recognize how past actions of colonialism in the United States have been central to the marginalization of indigenous peoples, particularly in Minnesota, but also how the University of St. Thomas can frame its mission priorities in developing an environment of moral leadership in the education of our students. In addition, the committee's wish is that the statement can direct the university in its actions to rectify the injustices of the past and present against Indigenous peoples. University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment Inspired by Catholic intellectual tradition, we invite you to reflect on these verses of scripture that offer us guidance in this endeavor: Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Romans 12:2 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. James 2:18 As a Catholic institution dedicated to the pursuit of truth, the University of St. Thomas recognizes that it occupies the ancestral and current homelands of the Dakota people, “Mni Sota Makoce”. The University of St. Thomas community also recognizes the territory of the Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk whose lands were also colonized by the United States and are occupied by the State of Minnesota. As a country, we acknowledge the actions of our past, our present, and how these actions have developed systems of oppression, rooted in settler colonialism that marginalized underrepresented peoples. We condemn the acts of evil including genocide and forced assimilation done in the name of white supremacy and the continued oppression of Indigenous peoples on the land that belongs to them. It is our mission to not only rectify these wrongs, but also provide an educational environment for our students, who as morally responsible leaders, will continue to dismantle this legacy of violence and work to support and empower those who have been marginalized in our nation and the world. It is our goal to continue the process of decolonizing the mind and proactively integrating this process into our words and actions. The Catholic Church and the University of St. Thomas teach that every person is born in the image and likeness of the Creator, and so, has dignity and inalienable worth. It is this belief that underlies all moral teaching regarding the intrinsic value of life, and which underlies the care for the person as the heart of Catholic education. We are committed to the long, yet urgent work of truth-telling and relationship building as we seek a way forward as relatives in the University of St. Thomas community, the Indigenous communities, and those who traverse multiple communities. Pronunciation Note: Mni (mnee) Sota (shoh-dah) Makoce (mah-koh-chay) In situations when using the full expression of the Land Acknowledgment (shown above) is not feasible, this shorter version can be used. It is preferred that the St. Thomas community use the full expression (longer version) of the Land Acknowledgment since each word holds significance to the important work of truth-telling, reflection and social justice. It is recommended, since our work in this endeavor is a community effort, to read the Land Acknowledgment in teams of two individuals with each one taking turns reading one paragraph to begin gatherings or university programs. Short-form of the University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment The University of St. Thomas occupies the ancestral and current homelands of the Dakota people, Mni Sota Makoce. We also recognize the Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk whose lands were colonized by the United States and are currently occupied by the State of Minnesota. We condemn the tools of settler colonialism, including genocide and forced assimilation, undertaken in the name of white supremacy that created structures of injustice and inequity that continue to oppress and marginalize Indigenous and underrepresented peoples. We work towards the process of decolonizing minds and educating students to be morally responsible leaders. We commit to the work of truth-telling and relationship building as we seek new pathways forward as relatives in the University of St. Thomas community, the Indigenous communities, and those who traverse multiple communities. Sharing the Land Acknowledgment (OneStThomas) Library Land Acknowledgment and Resources General Information "Land Acknowledgments and Next Steps." Native Governance Center. "Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples." United Nations. "The U.S. Dakota War of 1862." Minnesota Historical Society. "Why Treaties Matter."Minnesota Humanities Center et. al. Local Indigenous Groups The area has connections to the seven formal Ojibwe tribes as well as four of the recognized Dakota communities, and the unrecognized Mendota community of the Dakota. Ojibwe: Bois Forte; Fond du Lac; Grand Portage; Leech Lake; Mille Lacs; Red Lake; White Earth Dakota: Lower Sioux; Prairie Island; Shakopee Mdewakanton; Upper Sioux Twin Cities Urban Indian Community: Minnesota Indian Affair Council Little Earth Minneapolis American Indian Center American Indian Family Center Media Land Acknowledgement and Action in the Equity in Action Conference (2021) Watch the Land Acknowledgement and Action segment of the 2021 UST Equity in Action Conference. Watch Now "Red Totem" by Anishinaabe artist George Morrison Currently on display at the Anderson Student Center Learn about "Red Totem" and the artist This American Life: Little War on the Prairie "Growing up in Mankato, Minnesota, John Biewen says, nobody ever talked about the most important historical event ever to happen there: in 1862, it was the site of the largest mass execution in U.S. history. Thirty-eight Dakota Indians were hanged after a war with white settlers. John went back to Minnesota to figure out what really happened 150 years ago, and why Minnesotans didn’t talk about it much after." -This American Life Listen Here This Land: The Case "Patrick Murphy was convicted of murder by the state of Oklahoma in 2000. But defense attorneys soon discovered that his conviction may have been based on a lie. Hosted by Rebecca Nagle, an Oklahoma journalist and citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this podcast will provide an in depth look at how a cut and dry murder case opened an investigation into half the land in Oklahoma and the treaty rights of five tribes. Follow along to find out what’s at stake, the Trump administration’s involvement, the larger right wing attack on tribal sovereignty and how one unique case resulted in the largest restoration of tribal land in US history." -Crooked Media Listen Here 01/03 Learning about Indigenous history at St Thomas To dive deeper into understanding Native history and Indigenous rights, consider looking into these courses offered at the University of St Thomas, or inquire at the Library and Medicine Garden. ENGL 202 Native Amer Literature & Environment JPST 275 Qualitative Methods - research with MMDTC SOLV research with MMDTC Slider Button Navigate Left Slider Button Navigate Right NATIVE-LAND.CA IS A WEBSITE RUN BY THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION NATIVE LAND DIGITAL. WE ARE GUIDED BY A BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND AN ADVISORY COUNCIL, THIS MAP WAS MADE TO SHOW WHOSE INDIGENOUS LANDS YOU LIVE ON. Native Land Map Native Lands Website Recommended Reading Sleeper-Smith, Susan. et al. Why You Can’t Teach United States History without American Indians (Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 2015) Treuer, Anton. Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid To Ask (St. Paul: Borealis Books, 2012) Waziyatawin. What Does Justice Look Like?: The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland (St. Paul: Living Justice Press, 2008) Westerman, Gwen & Bruce White. Mni Sota Makoce: The Land of the Dakota (St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2012) Witgen, Michael. An Infinity of Nation: How the Native New World Shaped Early North America (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012) Slider Button Navigate Left Slider Button Navigate Right More Information Land-Grab Universities Learn the Dakota Language from the Minnesota Historical Society The Dakota Dictionary Online Bdote by Sacred Land Film Project Connect with Native Nations in Minnesota Home University of St. Thomas, Minnesota 2115 Summit Avenue St. Paul, Minnesota 55105 USA Land Acknowledgment 651-962-5000 Apply Course Catalog Maps & Directions Jobs at St. Thomas Facebook Twitter Pinterest YouTube LinkedIn Instagram © 2021 University of St. Thomas, Minnesota Report a Website Problem Policies EO Statement Privacy Policy Emergency Accessibility