As a result of the tireless collaborative efforts of Department of Linguistics Professor Andy Cowell, the faculty director of the Center for Native American And Indigenous Studies (CNAIS), along with a campus advisory group representing Inclusion, Diversity, and Excellence in Academics Council (IDEA) and the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Community Engagement (ODECE), the University of Colorado Boulder has adopted a land acknowledgement, whose full text can be found here, recognizing that the Boulder campus sits on land that is part of the traditional territories of the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Ute and other indigenous tribes. The land acknowledgement, which honors the contributions of indigenous peoples in the history of Colorado, also recognizes the lasting impact of the forced removal of tribal nations.
Professor Cowell views the land acknowledgement as a “starting point” for initiating serious formal consultation with Native American tribes, to explore ways to not only acknowledge history but also to better support indigenous peoples and raise awareness in the campus community.