Land Acknowledgement

Conference Land Acknowledgement

 

The word “Minnesota” is derived from the Dakota name for the area, Mni Sota Makoce, meaning Land Where the Waters Reflect the Sky.

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Minneapolis, MN is located on the traditional, ancestral and contemporary lands of Indigenous people including the Dakhóta Oyáte (Dakota People), who are the original stewards. The Local Arrangements Committee and the PLA conference organizers recognize that the PLA 2026 Conference space occupies the stolen ancestral and contemporary homelands of the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples. We also recognize that Indigenous people from other Native nations live and work in Minnesota, and that vibrant Indigenous communities are found in rural and urban settings across the state. We honor and acknowledge the Dakhóta Oyáte (Dakota People), as well as Ojibwe and other Indigenous people who cared for the land, lakes and the Haha Wakpa (Mississippi River) for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.

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There are eleven federally recognized tribes throughout Minnesota:

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• Bois Forte Band of Chippewa

• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

• Grand Portage Band of Ojibwe

• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

• Lower Sioux Indian Community

• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

• Prairie Island Indian Community

• Red Lake Nation

• Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community

• Upper Sioux Community

• White Earth Nation 

 

We invite you to explore the following resources to learn more about the Dakota and Indigenous culture in Minneapolis and greater Minnesota before you arrive and while you are here.

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• Why Treaties Matter—an online exhibit of treaties and land theft in Minnesota.

• Local Dakota Land Map—downloadable visual and audio Dakota land maps of Minneapolis, St. Paul, and surrounding areas by local artist Marlena Myles.

• Ojibwe People’s dictionary—features a searchable, talking Ojibwe-English and English-Ojibwe dictionary that speaks in the voices of Ojibwe Elders.

• City of Minneapolis land and water acknowledgement and resources

• ARLD Land acknowledgement

 

Addendum for Virtual Attendees

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Acknowledgement is one step toward building mutual respect and connections across barriers of heritage, culture, and time. PLA 2026 Virtual Conference attendees are encouraged to explore the history of ancestral lands local to them and to consider the possibilities for expressing solidarity with Native nations. This interactive map offers the opportunity to examine Indigenous territories and languages around the world, as well as the treaties affecting these communities.

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For Speakers

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Acknowledgement is one step toward building mutual respect and connections across barriers of heritage, culture, and time. PLA speakers and attendees are encouraged to explore the history of ancestral lands express solidarity with Native nations either from their own location and/or onsite in Minneapolis.

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For Onsite Speakers

PLA acknowledges that in Minneapolis we are that we are on the traditional homelands of the Dakota people. It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations. We must also ensure that our association and home institutions provide support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members.

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For Virtual Speakers

I work at an institution that sits on the ancestral land of [see: your institution's local land acknowledgement or see: interactive map - this map offers the opportunity to examine Indigenous territories and languages around the world, as well as the treaties affecting these communities]. It is important to acknowledge the peoples on whose land we live, learn, and work as we seek to improve and strengthen our relations with our tribal nations. We must also ensure that our association and home institutions provide support, resources, and programs that increase access to all aspects of higher education for our American Indian students, staff, faculty, and community members.