Land Acknowledgement Statement
Courtesy of, and with much gratitude to, Dr. Alicia Harris
The land that Resonator Institute sits upon is the ancestral homeland, and an important throughway for a variety of Native nations. As a site of confluence of cultures from the Northern Plains, Southern Plains, an end destination of the Trail of Tears, and the site of one of the last land runs in the United States of America, this place holds immense history and memory. Overlapping narratives and memories of epochs before set borders defined this land overlap with the imprint of Indian Territory and Oklahoma's statehood. These historical eras intersect, conflict, and refine one another in critical ways, which still bear meaning today. This land remains Indigenous homeland through cultural and spiritual beliefs and responsibilities, regardless of who is on it, or holds title to it.
The communities who hold homeland relations with this land include the Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Wazhazhe Ma"zha" (Osage), Kitikiti’sh (Wichita and Affiliated Tribes), Kadohadacho (Caddo), and Numunuu (Comanche). The Chikashsha (Chickasaw Nation) were allotted land holdings here upon their removal from their homelands in the states now known as Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Many other communities have been here, through trade relations, kinships and forced removals, and the state of Oklahoma is now home to 39 tribal nations. Land currently occupied by the University of Oklahoma was ceded to the United States in 1825, 1856, and 1889.
Native communities' relationships and responsibilities to the land are foundational to cultural expressions, including language, social structures, artistic production, and spiritual practices. We honor these nations and affirm that Resonator Institute (and all those affiliated with it) are guests on Indigenous homelands.
Please strive to be in good relations with those whose home you are in.