We, Epsilon Eta, acknowledge that the University of Michigan, built on the Huron River watershed, was formed and grows through connections with the traditional lands stewarded by Niswi Ishkodewan Anishinabeeg: The Three Fires People who are the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Boodewadomi and their neighbors the Seneca, Delaware, Shawnee, and Wyandot nations. Today we benefit from lands and resources originally acquired in the Treaty at the Foot of the Rapids, a coercive treaty which made a promise of reciprocity, mutual respect, and access to education, things that would all go unfulfilled for many decades following the treaty.
We acknowledge the painful and long history of genocide, forced assimilation, cession of lands under coersive treaties, and displacement of Native communities in the establishment of UM that is also common in the colonization and expansion of the United States. In addition, we acknowledge that the United States of America would not exist if it weren’t for the free, enslaved labor of Black people. We honor the legacy of the African diaspora and Black life and the knowledge and skills stolen due to violence and white supremacy.
We recognize that any research in environmental science and sustainability has and will always benefit from the access to and use of land originally unconscionably obtained from the exploitation of Indigenous and Black peoples.
We at Epsilon Eta are dedicated to education around the lands in which we inhabit and application of a mindset that prioritizes diversity and inclusivity. Knowing the lands in which we live and work cannot change the past, but understanding the historical and cultural impacts of colonization is important in the fight towards an equitable and sustainable future. If you would like to learn more about these Indigenous lands, there are resources available at the bottom of the page.