Performance or Progress? Evaluating Settler Land Acknowledgment Statements Among Public Land-Grant Universities

• In Event: Accepting Responsibility for Historical Processes That Perpetuate Inequities

Abstract

Land acknowledgements are a growing social justice practice, yet little research on this topic exists. Using discourse analysis, this study examines land acknowledgements from 106 land-grant universities and finds that most demonstrate historical dissociation on matters of law and state violence. Our findings offer university-mechanisms to responsibly address educational inequities impacting Indigenous students and communities.

Authors

• Theresa J. Stewart-Ambo, University of California - San Diego

• Theresa Rocha Beardall, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University