UW Lands Project

Welcome to the UW Lands Project!

This website represents the conclusion of the first UW Campus Land History class: a student-lead research group from the University of Washington (students: Marjorie Barker, Thomas Boyd, Lymari Feliu-Ortega, Iona Hillman, Claire Johnson, Kara Johnson, Kristyn Miller, Graham Mullen, Ariana O'Brien, Audrey Piskaldo, Laura Reeders, Katelyn Remesnik, Fiona Rivera, Ellie Steadmon, Mckenzie White; faculty coordinator: Peter Lape)

The first day of class, we went around the room sharing our reasons for being there. Many of our sentiments were the same; we had all spent years on this campus with minimal understanding of its inception and the history of the land prior to white settlement. We had all heard the standard, vague land acknowledgement one hundred times and were seeking something more. We wished to be better, more informed inhabitants of this land, and to allow others the opportunity to learn from our efforts as well. Together, we designed this website to share our findings with the campus community and anyone else who wishes to listen.

Intentions

It has been our goal from the beginning to highlight Indigenous presence on these lands, past and present. The history of the University of Washington campus is and will always be an Indigenous history. We do not claim to be experts on the matter, rather, we hope that we have allowed the people and the land to speak for themselves. Our aim was to recognize local Native communities beyond a simple land acknowledgement; being real and complex peoples presently living as opposed to narratives of obscure past societies victimized by colonization and time.

This project is the product of ten weeks spent brainstorming, internet deep-diving, discussing, archive-searching, questioning, worrying, sharing, eating, listening, walking, and creating. This work is living, and we hope it will be ongoing. To any future iterations of this class, understand the importance of this labor, and the impact that you will have on the story of this land and its people.

Acknowledgements

We had the privilege of speaking with many local Indigenous knowledge holders and others with an interest in our pursuit. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Simon Benjamin, Warren King George (Muckleshoot), Elizabeth King George (Nooksack), Steven Moses (Snoqualmie), Tami Hohn (Puyallup), Nancy Jo Bob (Lummi/Duwamish), Jean Dennison (Osage), Nigel Lawrence (Suquamish), Monte Mills, John Bolcer, Bob Kopperl, Joshua Reid (Snohomish), Jessica Bissett Perea (Dena'ina), and Daniel Hart. Without the gift of their time and wisdom we would not have come anywhere near this final product or felt as fulfilled in our time this quarter. A Native Knowledge Award from the UW Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies supported our project. Thank you.