ohi:yo':
Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
The School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) holds great respect for the land and original peoples of the area where The Ohio State University campus is located. The land that The Ohio State University occupies is the ancestral and contemporary territory of the Shawnee, Potawatomi, Delaware, Miami, Peoria, Seneca, Wyandotte, Ojibwe, and Cherokee peoples. The name “Ohio” itself is derived from the Iroquois “ohi:yo’” – the great river. The university resides on land ceded in the 1795 Treaty of Greeneville and the forced removal of tribes through the Indian Removal Act of 1830. As we strive to honor the resiliency of these tribal nations and recognize the historical contexts that have and continue to affect American Indians, we recognize that we are visitors and hope to become gracious guests that honor Indigenous past, present, and future.
We also explicitly recognize that this acknowledgement is only a small step in assuming the responsibilities and obligations of being settlers in this land that include research, reflection, and developing relationships of reciprocity with Indigenous peoples.
Through our teaching, research, and outreach endeavors we commit to justice in all its forms, including working to deconstruct false colonial ideologies of the superiority and privilege of Western thought and approaches. The work we need to accomplish towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is a long-term journey, and will be constantly evolving for SENR.
To learn more about tribal connections to the lands on which we find ourselves, the dispossession of lands and removal of Indigenous peoples, and ways to connect with tribal partners in efforts that move beyond land acknowledgements, visit the following resources:
- Native Land – Discover tribal connections to the land where you live.
- Land-Grab Universities – Learn more about the role of land-grant institutions like The Ohio State University in profiting from the dispossession and selling of Indigenous lands.
- Grappling with the Land Grant Truth – OSU Inspire Podcast - Professor Stephen Gavazzi is working with a team of Ohio State faculty to find a path to healing harm done to indigenous tribes when they lost lands to fund the university through the Morrill Act of 1862.
- Beyond A Land Acknowledgement Panel – Listen to ideas shared by Indigenous scholars at The Ohio State University about how to honor Native peoples through direct action.
- Moving Beyond Land Acknowledgements – StudentAffairsNow.com Podcast – Panelists discuss how college and universities can move beyond land acknowledgments. They provide questions for student affairs leaders to consider as more higher education institutions adopt land acknowledgements as a common practice.
- The Ohio State University's Multicultural Center – Native American/Indigenous Community – Connect with students, faculty, and staff who foster a supportive campus environment, affirming of the traditions and cultures of Indigenous peoples.
To explore the actions we are taking around our commitment to and connections with Indigenous Peoples and Tribes/Nations, please see Initiatives & Activities here.