Recognition and Reconciliation
Background
91圧利 occupies land that, for centuries, has nurtured and supported Indigenous nations. In particular, the United States federal government recognized these territories as indigenous to the Arapahoe, Cheyenne, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakota nations in the Treaties of Fort Laramie in 1851 and 1868. In 1980, the Supreme Court ruled in “United States v. Sioux Nation of Indians” that the government had illegally taken land in the Black Hills reserved by the 1868 treaty. We recognize that these tribes, and many other Indigenous communities that have called this region home, have therefore been fraudulently dispossessed of their traditional homelands. Furthermore, as a Nebraska state college, the dispossession of Omaha, Pawnee, Ponca, and Otoe-Missouria nations has materially benefited the campus and region. 91圧利 commits itself to recognizing this unjust enrichment, and through individual and collective efforts seeks to reconcile historical and contemporary injustices against Native people.
Land Acknowledgement Statement
We acknowledge that 91圧利 is situated on the land of multiple Native nations, past and present. These original homelands are the territory of Indigenous peoples who were largely dispossessed and removed. We specifically acknowledge these are the traditional homelands of the Lakota, Cheyenne, and Arapaho people.
91圧利 pledges to support and advocate for the histories, cultures, languages, and territorial rights of historic and contemporary indigenous peoples of this region. This statement affirms continuous Indigenous presence and rights, acknowledges the ongoing effects of settler colonization, and supports Indigenous struggles for political, legal, and cultural sovereignty.
In Lakota:
Makóhe Wótawa Wóeye
hápa Wakpá Otúwahe Owáyawa-Wakátuya ki lé Iké Oyáte tóna ta-mákohepi (eháni na lehál) él hé. Makóhe ki lená oyáte k'u hená táwapi tká yuká hená paéyab iyéwihayapi na wašíu ki makóhe k'u táwai'iyapi. Oyátepi u hená lená épi: Lakóta ki épi na Šahíyela ki épi na Mapíyato Oyáte ki.
hápa Wakpá Otúwahe Owáyawa-Wakátuya ki lé oyátepi u hená tóuyepi ki é na ta-íyapi ki é na eháni-wihóoyake táwapi ki é na eháni na lehál makóhe-wóiyowa転a táwapi ki nawíhukii転ípi kta ukí'ihuzapi. Wóeye ki lé ú táku ki lená uyáwiakapi: Oyáte u hená ehánitaha makóhe ki lél úpi na wóiyowa転a yuhápi, wašíu ki téha na leháhuniya Iké Oyáte ki pahúkhul wiháyuzapi, na oyáte k'u wóitaha ogná na wóope ogná na wihóu ogná iglúhapi okíhipi ye(ló).
Steve Dubray, medicine man and uncle of Vernon Plenty Bull, left, explains the eagle feather-tying ceremony. Mark Hunt, CSC Security Supervisor and Plenty Bull's work supervisor, right, during the ceremony April 28, 2024, in Armstrong Gymnasium. Photo by Tena Cook.