Today on Indigenous People’s Day, and everyday, we acknowledge the erasure of Indigenous land and culture and express gratitude to those whose stewardship of the environment allows us to benefit from the gifts of the earth.
We thank the Lenape people for their guardianship of Lenapehoking and recognize that NYU Steinhardt rests on this ancestral homeland. In their time, the Lenape people knew Washington Square Park as a marshy ground teaming with wildlife, fowl, and fish. Minetta Creek, one of the largest natural watercourses in Manhattan, ran through it and was diverted into a covered sewer in the 1820s, laying the foundation for a public park. The loss of this rich farmland is just one of many destructive transformations wrecked upon the Indigenous landscape by colonialism.
Though we cannot undo the injustice enacted upon Indigenous people, we acknowledge our difficult history, and rededicate ourselves to addressing the persistent wrongs and inequities that are the result of systemic racism and genocide. We mourn those children across the United States and Canada who were taken from their homes and taught “the white man’s ways” as part of nationwide assimilation projects. We acknowledge that these acts of violence, including murder, were an attempt to erase cultural identity. We pledge to use the resources available to us as an institution of higher education to help in the continuing struggle to dismantle the legacy of settler colonialism and raise historical awareness of Indigenous exclusion. To support this mission, we will read the NYU Steinhardt Land Acknowledgement before all of our events.
New York City has the largest urban Native population in the United States. To those in our community or living afar, we celebrate you today and promise to take the lessons we have learned from history to expand opportunity for Indigenous people, advocate for greater environmental justice, and teach the public about your cultural heritage.
Jack H. Knott, Dean
Gale and Ira Drukier Chair