Respect and Commitment
An update aims to boost the impact of Eastern’s land acknowledgment.
The formal acknowledgment that Native peoples are the original inhabitants and stewards of the land where EWU now resides has for years been a part of Eastern’s milestone events — from convocation to commencement. In addition to recognizing EWU’s relationship with area tribes, most notably the Spokane Tribe of Indians, the acknowledgments are meant to serve as a reminder of the often violent displacement of our region’s Indigenous peoples. They also seek to raise awareness of Native peoples’ ongoing presence, and to signal EWU’s commitment to reconciliation.
Earlier this year, under the leadership of Cola Boyer ’20, EWU’s director of tribal relations, the university unveiled an update to its official acknowledgments statement, one that reflected students’ desire for something more “impactful and meaningful.”
“That was probably the very first task that was given to me by the students, and I was more than happy to take it on,” Boyer says of the acknowledgment update. She says she began by exploring the origins of Eastern’s previous statement, then looked outside the university for inspiration.
“I looked at other universities’ land acknowledgments and came up with something that I felt met the mission and the feeling of Eastern Washington University and the Native American students who study here,” Boyer says.
After drafting a new version, she shared it with a group that included Professor Margo Hill, director of American Indian Studies, Evanlene Melting Tallow, program coordinator and recruiter for American Indian Studies, and with Native students. Together they made revisions that addressed tribal sovereignty issues and more fully confronted the systemic hardships area tribes have endured.
Boyer says the new land acknowledgment is more than just a formal recognition that Native people lived on the lands of the Cheney campus. “It’s giving a history of the tribe — the Spokane Tribe that was here — and it’s giving a deeper meaning to what this institution is now, and what it is rooted on.”
