Beyond Land Acknowledgments: Indigenous Accountability in Public Humanities

By Genesis Gonzalez ’28, OCW

Megan Red Shirt-Shaw, Meredith McCoy, and Elizabeth Rule consider how public humanities can center Indigenous knowledge, cultural protocols, and community priorities. They argue that universities must reckon with their ongoing benefit from Indigenous dispossession. A land acknowledgment alone may recognize whose land a university occupies without changing the power structures or returning land. The conversation explores how universities can support repair through accountable collaboration and by respecting Indigenous leadership and ways of knowing. It also considers tensions between decolonization and institutional diversity initiatives, as well as political pressures on this work. In my current humanities course, Indigenous history was covered in only one hour, while other forms of racial discrimination were discussed throughout the semester. This imbalance highlights the importance of Red Shirt-Shaw, McCoy, and Rule’s work in examining how universities can better center Indigenous histories and address the ongoing effects of dispossession.