Proclamation: Recognition of Indigenous Peoples' Day

WHEREAS, there are 52 Tribal Nations with ancestral ties to the land that is present-day Indiana;

WHEREAS, IU Bloomington is located within the boundaries of Land Cession #71 and the Treaty of St. Mary’s of 1818, which forcibly removed Tribal communities from their homelands. These Tribes included: Delaware, Eel River Myaamia, Kickapoo, Miami, Potawatomi, and Wea;

WHEREAS, IU Bloomington recognizes the Miami, Delaware, Potawatomi, and Shawnee Tribal Nations as the past, present, and future caretakers of this land;

WHEREAS, IU Bloomington supports Native and Indigenous community members and is committed to improved partnerships and collaborations with Native communities;

WHEREAS, in 2017, the university established the First Nations Leadership Ambassadors Council to advise the university on issues such as recruiting and retaining more Native students and faculty, increasing scholarship and financial aid opportunities for Native students, and providing services that help IU form a better connection with the broader Native community;

WHEREAS, IU Bloomington is home to the First Nations Educational & Cultural Center, American Indian Studies Research Institute, Native American and Indigenous Studies, IU NAGPRA Office, IU Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, Archives of Traditional Music, and the School of Education Global Gateway for Teachers–Navajo Nation Teaching Program, among others;

WHEREAS, the campus community is encouraged to engage with contemporary Native communities, to learn the histories of this land, to look at who has and does not have access to its resources, and to examine their place, abilities, and obligations within this process of reparative work that is necessary to promote a more equitable and socially just IU Bloomington;

WHEREAS, the idea of Indigenous Peoples’ Day was first proposed in 1977 by the International Conference on Discrimination Against the Indigenous Population in the Americas;

NOW, THEREFORE, IU Bloomington does hereby recognize the second Monday of October, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and commend its observance to all of the Bloomington community.