*Note: This statement is a work in progress as I do more research to better understand the histories of my three homelands. If you notice an error or misrepresentation, please reach out to me so that I may correct it.
Thank you for your time in reading this,
Jen Barker
Land Acknowledgment:
I would like to acknowledge the following people whose land I live and work on today in and near Detroit, Michigan: the Potawatomi Nation, the Mississauga Nation, the Anishinabek Nation, and the Miami Nation. In 1838, the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi were forced to cede the remainder of their “reserved lands” and were relocated to lands west of the Mississippi River in what was referred to as the Trail of Death. A group of Tribal Members was able to escape and return to their native lands in Michigan, also known as the land of 3 fires, and now reside on the Pine Creek Indian Reservation in Fulton, Michigan.
I would also like to acknowledge the following people whose land I spent my childhood on in and near Running Springs, California: the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians and the Morongo Nation.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge the following people whose land I was born and raised on in and around Houston, Texas through this statement written by the Karankawa Kadla people:
“We recognize the enduring relationship and intimate connection that exists between indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands and waters. The region from Galveston, Texas to Corpus Christi, Texas are the ancestral and current homelands of the Karankawa, Lipan Apache, Ishak (also known as Atakapa), Cotoname, and other tribal and detribalized peoples from before recorded history to the present day. We express gratitude to these peoples who have stewarded these lands and waters since the beginning of time. It is because of these indigenous caretaker stewards that we can gather here today, and we acknowledge this land we stand upon as sacred, historical, and significant to the Karankawa Kadla peoples and relatives. We invite all to learn the true history of the lands on which we reside, and we ask that you treat these lands and waters with dignity and respect, as you would your own relative.”
Just as my own personal history is complicated—having lived in and closely identified with three places—so is the story of whose land we live on.
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