Land Acknowledgement

Why we do land acknowledgements

Land acknowledgements honor a place’s Indigenous people – past and present – and recognize
the history that brought us to where we are today. They are typically offered at the beginning
of public events or meetings and presented by local Indigenous people, but more commonly by
event or meeting organizers.

We acknowledge that we are on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the
Osage Nation, Missouria, Illinois Confederacy and many other tribes who were and are
custodians of the land where we reside, occupy, and call home. We recognize their sovereignty
was never ceded after unjust removal. We give appreciation to these indigenous people for use
of their stolen lands. In offering this land acknowledgement, we affirm and support Tribal
sovereignty, history and experiences by elders past, present, and generations yet to come
through their connection to this land. Today, there are over 183,400 Native Americans living in
the state of Missouri.

Approved January 26, 2023