The development of the land acknowledgment at St. Thomas can be traced back to 2018. Associate Professor and Justice and Peace Studies Program Director Mike Klein said there was a confluence of university interest in the idea. Several people and units at the university raised the issue of land acknowledgment including the Undergraduate Student Government.
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.” A first step The St. Thomas land acknowledgment, which was rolled out last March, is divided into three paragraphs: an acknowl- edgment that the Dakota, Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk histories are tied to St. Thomas and Minnesota; a list of acts that
At the time, Markku Makinen ’20 was collaborating with Klein on a summer research project into Dakota land on the site where St. Thomas is located.
UNIVERSITY OF ST.THOMAS LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
“At the end of my paper, I suggested next steps that Mike and I discussed St. Thomas could take,” said Makinen, who now is working toward a graduate degree in the Leadership in Student Affairs
nonnative people engaged in; and a commitment of course change by the university.
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.
This is just a first step.
“Fundamentally, these are words, and words without action ring hollow,” Jurss said. “We must
program. “One step was a land acknowledgment or plaque.” Creating a plan After receiving Makinen’s suggestions, Klein
better understand American history in
order to begin to provide necessary context of both contemporary issues and point toward potential action steps.”
stthomas.edu/about/ land-acknowledgment/
collaborated with Hernandez- Siegel; Jacob Jurss, adjunct professor in the Department of History; and Mads Clark, interim assistant director of the Office of Student
Klein said that the work ahead involves “truth-telling, relationship-
Diversity and Inclusion Services. With support from senior leadership, they formed the University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment Committee. The university’s land acknowledgement webpage provides insight into the crafting of the statement, saying it was designed to, “...not only recognize how past actions of colonialism in the United States have
building and justice-doing.”
He added that numerous opportunities to take action exist for the St. Thomas community, and that they are exploring possibilities. “The list of possibilities is endless,” Jurss said. “It can be as creative as we’re willing to be brave.“ n
S T T H O M A S . E D U
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