Resources

What is a Land Acknowledgment?

A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous peoples as traditional stewards of a given geographic area and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their ancestral territories. For San Diego State, we recognize the land as Kumeyaay.

Why is a Land Acknowledgment important

Recognizing the land is a practice that honors and respects contemporary Indigenous peoples’ connection to their land since time immemorial. Using a Land Acknowledgment is a way to express gratitude and appreciation for those whose territory one resides or works on. From an Indigenous perspective, it is important for people to understand the history that brought them to the land and that people seek to comprehend their place within that history. This is especially important since most Indigenous peoples were dispossessed of their lands through deceptive processes. The land San Diego State currently occupies, for example, was never legally ceded by Kumeyaay people through treaty or sale. Most Indigenous people consider colonialism as a current and ongoing process. Land Acknowledgments serve to build mindfulness and awareness of colonialism, both past and present. Acknowledging the land is also a common protocol practiced by Indigenous peoples and allies worldwide.

How do I use a Land Acknowledgment?

Wherever you travel, you can acknowledge the Indigenous people of the territory that you are on. One helpful resource to use is Native Land Digital, a database that recognizes the traditional territories across North and South America as well as Australia and New Zealand. Much of the central, southern, and east San Diego County is Kumeyaay territory; while most of North County is Luiseño traditional homelands. Concise acknowledgments can consist of: “I want to take a moment to acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Kumeyaay [or insert other nation name(s)].” If you are at an event at another university campus in San Diego County, be sure to ask a representative of that campus for their Land Acknowledgement statement.

To include in your email signature please use: Indigenous Residence: Kumeyaay

Or

Indigenous land borrowing/occupying: The Kumeyaay

For events on campus at San Diego State, please use the full or abbreviated Land Acknowledgement statement below.

We stand upon a land that carries the footsteps of millennia of Kumeyaay people. They are a people whose traditional lifeways intertwine with a worldview of earth and sky in a community of living beings. This land is part of a relationship that has nourished, healed, protected and embraced the Kumeyaay people to the present day. It is part of a world view founded in the harmony of the cycles of the sky and balance in the forces of life. For the Kumeyaay, red and black represent the balance of those forces that provide for harmony within our bodies as well as the world around us. As students, faculty, staff and alumni of San Diego State University we acknowledge this legacy from the Kumeyaay. We promote this balance in life as we pursue our goals of knowledge and understanding. We find inspiration in the Kumeyaay spirit to open our minds and hearts. It is the legacy of the red and black. It is the land of the Kumeyaay.

Eyay e’Hunn My heart is good.

For millennia, the Kumeyaay people have been a part of this land. This land has nourished, healed, protected and embraced them for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. As members of the San Diego State community we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find inspiration from this land; the land of the Kumeyaay.

Native American Student Alliance (NASA)

Our purpose is to bring Indigenous students and allies on campus together! We want to create a safe space that we can connect with one another through different events and general board meetings.

Email: [email protected]

Indigenous Social Workers Alliance (ISWA)

The purposes of this organization are to educate the community Native American/Indigenous identifying cultures, promote social and educational development of Native students, exchange ideas and traditions with members of the Native community, advocate for social justice issues in relation to Social Work and Child Welfare, and foster leadership among Native students and non-Native students in the field of Social Work.

Native American/Indigenous Faculty and Staff Association (NAIFSA)

The Mission of the Native American and Indigenous Faculty and Staff Association is to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment at San Diego State University for individuals who identify as Native American/indigenous. We are dedicated to communicating an understanding of the experiences of Native American and indigenous faculty, staff, and students, and facilitating awareness, education, and respect for their unique histories, cultures, and perspectives in order to create an environment in which the NAI community may thrive and prosper.

View the NAIFSA website

Men of Color Alliance (MoCA)

The Men of Color Alliance (MoCA) is a community that fosters a sense of belonging and growth intended to result in positive outcomes and experiences for the men of color at San Diego State University. MoCA works toward the establishment of an environment that maintains a supportive network that progressively increases campus awareness and the advocacy of issues dealing with diversity and equity. The alliance actively promotes advancements in strengthening community, decreasing discrimination, increasing the feeling of empowerment, instilling the confidence to self-advocate, occupational retention rates, job satisfaction and professional development and growth for the men of color faculty, staff, and students at San Diego State University.

American Indian Alumni Chapter of San Diego State: Official Facebook

The purposes of this organization are to establish a community of SDSU alumni who work to support the American Indian community by coordinating cultural, educational and healthy events and services and supporting students at San Diego State University.

Click on the link below to see an expansive list of scholarships and grants available to both undergraduate and graduate students!

Scholarships and Grants Form

Click on the link below to access various resources for conducting dialogue around Thanksgiving/Thankstaking for youth, adults, caretakers, educators, and more.

Thanksgiving/Thankstaking Resources

Click on the link below to access various resources collected by the NRC to learn more about the Missing Murdered Indigneous Women and Relatives endemic.

MMIWR Resource List

Click on the links below to see the different ways that the Native Resource Center has been featured in the news!

• Newest Cultural Resource Centers Overcome Challenging Launches
• Native Resource Center celebrates Kumeyaay New Year
• Native Resource Center hosts celebration for Indigenous Peoples’ Day
• Environmental Commitment Draws Student Fellowship
• Testing the Waters, Finding a Passion
• SRS Art Exhibit Award  - John Mollet
• Event shines light on mistreatment of Indigenous residential school students
• Students honor Native lives lost in residential schools, ‘There are still more children that need to be found’

• May 2022
• April (2) 2022
• April (1) 2022
• March 2022
• February 2022
• January 2022
• December (2) 2021
• December (1) 2021
• November 2021
• October (2) 2021
• October (1) 2021
• September 2021