Harvard Club of Washington, DC

Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

The Harvard Club of Washington, DC acknowledges the Traditional Owners of this area, the Nacotchtank and Piscataway peoples, and pays respect to their Elders, past and present. We also celebrate Harvard University’s foundational connection with Indigenous peoples and pay respect to all the First Nations Elders in our global alumni community.

Background

In the fall of 2021, following the decision by the Board of the Harvard Alumni Association (HAA) to begin its quarterly meetings with an Indigenous Land Acknowledgment, a committee of the Board of the Harvard Club of Washington, DC began work to understand better the impetus for the HAA decision and to consider whether a similar practice might be appropriate for the Club’s Board.  The committee organized an event for Club members on the topic of Indigenous Land Acknowledgements in April 2022 which featured the immediate past president of HAA, a founding board member of the Native American Alumni of Harvard University, and the board president of the North American Indian Center of Boston.  In developing language for the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement that it recommended be adopted by the Board, the committee conducted research and engaged experts, including a locally based, Harvard-affiliated academic and member of the Piscataway Nation. 

At its May meeting, the Board voted to begin future Board meetings with the Indigenous Land Acknowledgement presented by the committee.  The Board also recommended that other large gatherings sponsored by the Club begin with an Indigenous Land Acknowledgement.

The Board of the Harvard Club of Washington, DC encourages members to learn more about Indigenous Land Acknowledgements and the indigenous people for whom this area is an ancestral home.  A few resources are provided below.

• From the Harvard Club of Washington, DC: Indigenous Land Acknowledgements: A Means to Address Indigenous Invisibility
• From the National Museum of the American Indian: Honoring Original Indigenous Inhabitants: Land Acknowledgment
• From the U.S. National Park Service: Native Peoples of Washington, DC
• From Native Land Digital, a Canadian non-profit organization: Native Land Map