The Office of Diversity and Inclusion offered a message in 2022 of affirmation and hope to honor and celebrate our Native American and Alaska Native communities:
As we begin Native American and Alaska Native Heritage Month today, Seattle University affirms and recognizes the deep ancestry, rich culture, and sacred traditions of Indigenous People. Year-round, and during this national observation during November, Seattle University celebrates the immense contributions of Native people and their origin story in the complex history of our region and country. Seattle University also recognizes and reflects on the oppression and systemic challenges that have been placed on Indigenous communities throughout our nation’s history and still present today. Read more.
From the Federal Native American Heritage Month site
One of the very proponents of an American Indian Day was Dr. Arthur C. Parker, a Seneca Indian, who was the director of the Museum of Arts and Science in Rochester, N.Y. He persuaded the Boy Scouts of America to set aside a day for the “First Americans” and for three years they adopted such a day. In 1915, the annual Congress of the American Indian Association meeting in Lawrence, Kans., formally approved a plan concerning American Indian Day. It directed its president, Rev. Sherman Coolidge, an Arapahoe, to call upon the country to observe such a day. Coolidge issued a proclamation on Sept. 28, 1915, which declared the second Saturday of each May as an American Indian Day and contained the first formal appeal for recognition of Indians as citizens.
The United Nations has named the upcoming decade from 2022 – 2032 as the International Decade of the Indigenous Languages. In partnership with UNESCO, the purpose and goal from these upcoming years are to bring awareness to the critical situation many indigenous languages are in by revitalizing and promoting these languages at the global level.
"As we begin our gathering, I/we respectfully acknowledge that our event today is taking place on the homelands of the Coast Salish peoples, who continue to steward these lands and waters as they have since time immemorial. We recognize tribal nations and organizations who actively create, shape, and contribute to our thriving community at Seattle University and beyond.
“We, as an academic community, should be and are committed to doing our part to engage with and amplify the voices of Native peoples and tribes. We acknowledge our collective responsibility to advance proper education of Native peoples and tribes and call for further learning and action to support the Native people of this land."
Source: Native American Law Student Association
Past Events:
Want to see your event? Email inclusion@seattleu.edu!
In partnership with MarCom, there are Zoom backgrounds available for your use this month.
Check out more titles from our Summer Reading Lists!
Language borrowed from the 'Creating Beloved Community Facilitation Guide' written by the Office of Multicultural Affairs:
Please treat this acknowledgement with the honor and respect it is due, by reading slowly and reverently, rather than treating it as a perfunctory task to whip through. Refrain from saying things like, “now that we’ve got this out of the way...”
"Before we continue, we want to pause to acknowledge the lands in which we are gathered by reading the land acknowledgment created by our Native American Law Student Association.
The following statement is offered as a way for our community to recognize this land and our history; to honor the people past and present who belong to this place; to create a common and consistent language for our events and ceremonies; and to have language that was crafted with care and wisdom.
'As we begin our gathering, I/we respectfully acknowledge that our event today is taking place on the homelands of the Coast Salish peoples, who continue to steward these lands and waters as they have since time immemorial. We recognize tribal nations and organizations who actively create, shape, and contribute to our thriving community at Seattle University and beyond.
We, as an academic community, should be and are committed to doing our part to engage with and amplify the voices of Native peoples and tribes. We acknowledge our collective responsibility to advance proper education of Native peoples and tribes and call for further learning and action to support the Native people of this land.'"
Want to take your understanding and use of land acknowledgements further?
APA style guide teaches us how to cite traditional sources such as books, journal articles, and youtube videos. When we use indigenous knowledge from direct sources, like an elder or other knowledge keeper, we need to be more intentional with the way we cite their words. Many institutions of higher learning are developing a protocol to explain the relationship between the knowledge shared and the person who shared them. Courtesy of University of British Columbia.
If they are not a research participant, then you can cite them as you would personal communication. Include in an in-text citation the person's full name and the specific Indigenous group they belong, location, and additional details that are relevant to them, ending with the words "personal communication" and the date of the communication.
If this is the case you should include a general date or range of dates that reflect when you consulted with the person.
If you are an Indigenous person and are including information from your own experience or information that has previously not been recorded of your people "describe yourself in the text (e.g., what nation you belong to, where you live) to contextualize the origin of the information you are sharing." (APA, 2020, p.261). You do not need to include a personal communication citation or have a reference list entry.
The Lemieux Library provides a wealth of resources on:
Other sources and protocols:
Native American Law Students Association
SU Indigenous Student Association
This website is a living resource. We aim to keep it relevant and helpful. We invite you to share your ideas of a resource or other material for education and enlightenment here.