Native Land Acknowledgement Statement
We are honored to acknowledge that the Community Colleges of Spokane, and our main campuses for Spokane Falls and Spokane Community College, are located on the traditional and sacred homelands of the Spokane Tribe. We also provide services in a region that includes the traditional and sacred homelands of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Kalispel Tribe and Nez Perce Tribe.
We pay our respect to tribal elders both past and present as well as to all indigenous people today. This land holds their cultural DNA and we are honored and grateful to be here on their traditional lands. We give thanks to the legacy of the original people and their descendants and pledge to honor their stewardship and values.
What and Why
A land acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects the Indigenous peoples as stewards of this land and the relationship that exists between Indigenous peoples and their traditional lands. Land acknowledgements do not exist in past tense or outside of historical context.
Although it is important to acknowledge the land, this acknowledgement is only a first step. This is about relationship building and supportive association. Building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with Indigenous peoples and Native nations is a lifelong process.
Watch the video below to learn more about why land acknowledgement is important.
Where and How to Use the Statement
A land acknowledgment is not something you “just do” before an event – it is a reflective process in which you build mindfulness and intention before walking into whatever gathering you are having.
Below are some examples of where and how the statement can be used.
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The opening of each campus video
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First day of class
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Before a special meeting or event
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Campus-wide events
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Meeting/events with community members/people outside of CCS
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Graduation
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Sporting events
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Place it on your syllabus
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Campus email signature (see example below)
Joe Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Department of Sociology
Office: 760-555-5555
Email: XXXXXXXXXX
A guest on traditional, unceded Spokane Tribal land.
For more information, please go to www.spokanetribe.com
Remember, this list is not exhaustive – please adapt this to best meet the needs of your area.
Whose Land are you on?
District Offices – Spokane Tribe
SCC Main Campus – Spokane Tribe
SFCC Main Campus – Spokane Tribe
SCC Colville Center – Colville Confederated Tribes
SCC Inchelium – Colville Confederated Tribes
SCC Newport – Kalispel
SCC Republic – Kalispel
SFCC Pullman – Colville Confederated Tribes and Nez Perce
Who are the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation?
The traditional territories of the Colville Tribes extends across eastern Washington and into portions of British Columbia, Oregon and Idaho. This expanse covered approximately 39 million acres as the homeland of the Lakes, Colville, Okanogan, Moses-Columbia, Wenatchi, Entiat, Chelan, Methow, Nespelem, Sanpoil, Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce and Palus Indians.
Additional Resources
Native Land website offers an online platform where users can interact with maps of Indigenous lands, treaties and languages. However, there are many questions one still needs to address when using such maps; like shared spaces and time periods - it's incomplete and in development, and territories overlap.
Area Tribal Websites
https://www.colvilletribes.com/
https://www.syilx.org/
https://spokanetribe.com/
https://www.ktunaxa.org/
https://kalispeltribe.com/
https://nezperce.org/
https://www.cdatribe-nsn.gov/
If you would like posters for your public spaces with the CCS land acknowledgment statement printed on them, contact the marketing office at 509-434-5142