Land Acknowledgment
The Origin of UW-Platteville’s Land Acknowledgment
In creating the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Land Acknowledgement, it was essential that we acknowledge not only the people, but the land itself.
It is unquestionably important to recognize the history, trauma, and lasting effects of colonization upon the original inhabitants of Turtle Island (the Americas). Our Land Acknowledgement begins by identifying the indigenous nations that once made home in the areas where our campuses now reside. As an institution of higher learning, we decided that our Land Acknowledgment needed to accomplish more than simply drawing attention to the victims of genocide who have been insufficiently memorialized in our national memory.
At no other time in our global history has our impact upon the land been as great as it is right now. It is only by truly recognizing the land, and all it provides for all living beings, that we have a hope of stopping this destruction and restoring harmony and balance to our ineffably beautiful planet.
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville hopes all our future leaders will seek to understand and embody this Land Acknowledgment and carry it forward into the future. The efforts we make today are on behalf of our children and the planet their children will inherit tomorrow.
The Usage of UW-Platteville’s Land Acknowledgement
It is suggested that students, educators, and staff utilize our Land Acknowledgement for educational purposes. We wholeheartedly encourage intertwining it within curriculum or using it to convey our institutional philosophy of caring for the greater world around us. Our wish is that all Pioneers seek to sincerely embody its meaning instead of viewing it as an obligatory statement to be read at the beginning of an event.
Our Land Acknowledgment
In honor of the Sac and Fox, Ho-Chunk, Kickapoo, Dakota, Potawatomi, and Miami Tribes - the original people and caretakers of the land on which our institution of higher learning now resides, the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and Baraboo Sauk County campuses would like to recognize the original people.
Please take this moment to honor and celebrate these beautiful and sacred lands and the splendor of life, in its many forms, that it supports and nourishes.
Earth teach me quiet…as the grasses are still with new light.
Earth teach me suffering…as old stones suffer with memory.
Earth teach me humility…as blossoms are humble with beginning.
Earth teach me caring…as mothers nurture their young.
Earth teach me courage…as the tree that stands alone.
Earth teach me limitation…as the ant that crawls on the ground.
Earth teach me freedom…as the eagle that soars in the sky.
Earth teach me acceptance…as the leaves that die each fall.
Earth teach me renewal…as the seed that rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself…as melted snow forgets its life.
Earth teach me to remember kindness…as dry fields weep with rain.
-A prayer said by a member of the Ute Nation
Created by: Shaun Stoeger (Wamniomni)
Tribal Liaison (Lakota)
Fall 2023
