Commitments and Acknowledgements

We acknowledge that the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is built within the traditional homelands of the Dakota people. It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations. We also acknowledge that words are not enough. We must ensure that our institution provides support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members.

We acknowledge that the University of Minnesota Duluth is located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. The University resides on land that was cared for and called home by the Ojibwe people, before them the Dakota and Northern Cheyenne people, and other Native peoples from time immemorial. Ceded by the Ojibwe in an 1854 treaty, this land holds great historical, spiritual, and personal significance for its original stewards, the Native nations and peoples of this region. We recognize and continually support and advocate for the sovereignty of the Native nations in this territory and beyond. By offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm tribal sovereignty and will work to hold the University of Minnesota Duluth accountable to American Indian peoples and nations.

• Why Treaties Matter — a comprehensive and thoughtful exploration of treaties and land theft in Minnesota.
• University of Minnesota Native American Promise Tuition program
• Where We Stand: The University of Minnesota and Dakhóta Treaty Lands — a discussion on land acknowledgments by Čhaŋtémaza (Neil McKay) and Monica Siems McKay, published in Open Rivers
• The On Being Project Land Acknowledgment Resources —  resources dedicated to Native American culture and history in Minnesota, as well as on the practice of land acknowledgment   
• Local Dakota Land Map — downloadable visual and audio Dakota land maps of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding areas by local artist Marlena Myles
• Tribal Nations in Minnesota - a comprehensive list of the seven Anishinaabe (Chippewa, Ojibwe) reservations and four Dakota (Sioux) communities with web links to those communities where available.

• Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. The Bois Forte Band of Chippewa is located in northern Minnesota, approximately sixty miles south and west of International Falls, MN.
• Fond Du Lac Reservation. The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Reservation lies in Northeastern Minnesota adjacent to the city of Cloquet, MN, approximately 20 miles west of Duluth, MN. 
• Gichi-Onigaming / Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. The Grand Portage Reservation is located in Cook County in the extreme northeast corner of Minnesota, approximately 150 miles from Duluth. It is bordered on the north by Canada, on the south and east by Lake Superior and on the west by Grand Portage State Forest.
• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. The Leech Lake Reservation, located in the forests of north-central Minnesota.
• Lower Sioux Indian Community. The Lower Sioux Indian Community is located on the south side of the Minnesota River in Redwood County, two miles south of Morton and six miles east of Redwood Falls.
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. History, tribal government, and educational material.
• Prairie Island Indian Community. Prairie Island Indian Community is located in southeastern Minnesota, north of Red Wing, between Highway 61 and the Mississippi River.
• Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Historical information, tribal planning, employment and training, Pow-wow pages, gaming, telephone directory and more.
• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community. The Shakopee-Mdewakanton Reservation is located entirely within the city limits of Prior Lake, in Scott County, Minnesota.
• Upper Sioux Community. The Upper Sioux Community is located in Yellow Medicine County.
• White Earth Reservation. The White Earth Reservation is located in the northwestern Minnesota counties of Mahnomen, Becker, and Clearwater.

The University of Minnesota Medical School community continues to mourn the death of George Floyd. We commit to absolute systemic change that will prevent more senseless deaths, reduce gaps in healthcare outcomes in all of our communities, ensure that all students are educated equally, and create a better Medical School, University, state, and world for us all.

What you can do is learn more about others. Efforts can be small - visit a farmer’s market; see a cultural event; watch a video you might usually not watch; invite a casual colleague to lunch and learn more about them. We each ‘don’t know what we don’t know’. How we learn and grow is exposing ourselves to new and different viewpoints and experiences. There are numerous opportunities in our world - both within the University of MInnesota and Medical School to Minnesota at large,  to explore. Here are some types of activities you can do:

• Volunteer in you Community
• Support Small and Local Businesses
• Watch a Documentary or Film; Attend a Seminar or Workshop
• Celebrate Your Actions and Those of Others
• Share your Success with Others to Educate and Help them

For more ideas, suggestions or details - just contact us!  [email protected]