Aaniin, Hi; Boozhoo, Hello!

The GVSU Native American Advisory Council (NAAC) has the following draft statement for land acknowledgement:

We would like to recognize the People of the Three Fires: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi peoples on whose land we are gathered. The Three Fires People are indigenous to this land which means that this is their ancestral territory. Every university is built on stolen, native land. We are guests on their land and one way to practice right relations is to develop genuine ways to acknowledge the histories and traditions of the people who originated here first, who are still here, and who tend to the land always. As we make this land acknowledgment we know it is but an important first step, and that there are many more that we need to take when we decide to engage in the important work of social justice.

For more information on the purpose and intent of land acknowledgments, see Northwestern University's site.

This guide's purposes are to help you learn more about peoples of the Americas while using information and provide resources for doing research. For those who are "white" please see the Education tab, box on Resources for settlers.

Indigenous peoples have different values about data, information, and research procedures than colonial descendents.

Kim Ranger (Euro-American) is of western European ancestry.