January 30, 2025

Board of Trustees approves land acknowledgement

The acknowledgement reiterates that Schoolcraft College rests on land that was the ancestral territory of several Native American tribes.

Schoolcraft College has recently approved a new land acknowledgement that recognizes that indigenous peoples originally occupied the land the College currently sits on.

The acknowledgement, approved by the Board of Trustees at its Jan. 29 meeting, states the land the College occupies was the ancestral territory of the several Native American tribes and recognizes them as the original owners. 

The land acknowledgement reads as follows:

“At Schoolcraft College, we stand together to honor the past, embrace the present and cultivate a brighter future. We acknowledge that the land in which the College occupies is the ancestral territory of the Potawatomi Tribes, Indian Nations, and all Anishinaabeg – Three Fires Confederacy, including Ojibwe and Odawa peoples. In particular, Schoolcraft College resides on the land that was ceded to the United States government in the Treaty of Detroit of 1807.”

The land acknowledgement serves as a formal statement to recognize the history of the land and the relationship it holds with indigenous peoples. The statement will be listed on the Schoolcraft College website, as well as on a plaque that will be placed on campus later this year.

The decision to acknowledge the Native peoples that originally occupied the nearby lands follows traditions at other institutions of higher education to observe this region’s history.

“Part of being a respectful member of the community is recognizing where we come from and what was here before us,” said Dr. Glenn Cerny, President of Schoolcraft College. “This land acknowledgement shows our community we are working to better understand our history and the people that lived here before us.”


Read More News