Midwest Popular Culture Association
Land Recognition Statement
We acknowledge that we are meeting on traditional Native lands that are today home to representatives of well over one hundred different tribal nations. We extend our respect to all of them, including the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, and Odawa nations, who signed the Treaty of Chicago in 1821 and 1833. We also recognize the Ho-Chunk, Myaamia, Menominee, Illinois Confederacy, and Peoria people who also maintained relationships with this land.
We acknowledge that these sacred homelands were ruptured by the European invasion of the Americas. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI promulgated the Doctrine of Discovery, which seized Native lands and resources with impunity. This doctrine has been used by countries throughout the Americas, including the U.S., to legitimize colonial policies of displacement and genocide toward Native peoples and to justify colonial legacies of white superiority and global capitalism.
As MPCA is an organization that studies culture and how it impacts those around us, we reaffirm our commitment, both as an organization and as individuals, to help make our community and our society a more equitable, welcoming, and just place for all.
Adapted from DePaul University’s Land Recognition Statement found here: https://offices.depaul.edu/diversity/Pages/Land-Acknowledgement-.aspx
