You are on Dakota land

As part of this project, it is important to highlight that we are on the land of the Dakota people. In 1863, following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862-only three years before Carleton was founded in 1866 -- Dakota people were exiled from Minnesota and forced to move from here to reservations in what are now Nebraska and the Dakotas. As Carly Bad Heart Bull (Dakota/Muskogee Creek) explained at Convocation in November 2019, there are currently four Dakota nations in Minnesota, and many more Dakota people still living in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Canada. We need to continuously remember this history and present. Some people who read the materials created by AMST 231 are likely descendants of those who settled this land in the wake of Dakota removal, and some people are likely descendants of those who endured and continue to endure this, or similar, violence.  

Additionally, this land acknowledgement must extend beyond Carleton. Unless you are Indigenous, you likely occupied Native lands before you came to Carleton; after you leave Carleton, you will also likely occupy Native lands wherever you may choose to go. Take the time to learn the names of the peoples your occupation has displaced. Learn about their culture, history and contemporary realities that our colonial state attempts to erase. Maintain constant respect for their rights and land. 

Yet acknowledging that we are on occupied and stolen land is not enough. We must take reparative action for that acknowledgment to hold any weight, and this action begins with educating ourselves on the history of settler-colonial violence and the impact it continues to have. The materials on this site offer resources and next steps for action you can take to begin this reparative process. 

This Land Acknowledgement is adapted from the Fall 2019 zines by Caro Carty, Connor McNamee, and Izzy Rankin.