Brooklyn Park City Council adopts land acknowledgement for schools
The Brooklyn Park City Council discussed the Robbinsdale Area Schools' formal land acknowledgement recognizing Dakota and Ojibwe peoples at its October 3rd meeting. The acknowledgement, which will be posted in school buildings, marks the beginning of efforts to integrate indigenous history and culture more deeply into the school curriculum.
The Robbinsdale Area Schools has adopted an official land acknowledgement that recognizes the Dakota and Ojibwe peoples' historical stewardship of the land in Minnesota. The formal statement will be displayed in school buildings throughout the district as a visible commitment to honoring indigenous communities.
Speakers at the meeting emphasized that the land acknowledgement is not an endpoint but rather a starting point for more substantial change. They called for the school district to move beyond symbolic recognition toward concrete educational initiatives that integrate indigenous history, cultures, languages, and economies into classroom instruction.
Proponents of the initiative stressed the importance of fostering empathy among students and addressing historical injustices through education. By weaving indigenous perspectives throughout the curriculum rather than treating them as isolated topics, school leaders hope to give students a more complete understanding of Minnesota's history and the ongoing presence of Native American communities.
The acknowledgement reflects a broader national trend of institutions recognizing the indigenous peoples whose lands they occupy. For the Robbinsdale Area Schools, the next phase will involve determining how to translate this acknowledgement into meaningful curriculum changes and community partnerships that benefit both students and local indigenous communities.
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[0:04] - [Bradley] It's easy to overlook
[0:05] the deep-rooted history beneath our feet.
[0:08] - [Yvonne] In today's fast-paced world,
[0:10] it's easy to take the land for granted.
[0:12] - [Beth] Robbinsdale Area
Schools is changing that.
[0:15] The district recognizes and
honors the land it calls home.
[0:19] More specifically,
Robbinsdale Area Schools
[0:22] recognizes the Dakota and Ojibwe people
[0:26] and their stewardship of this land,
[0:28] long before settlers first
set foot in this place.
[0:32] Land acknowledgements are
a humble gesture of respect
[0:35] and an act of acknowledging
[0:37] the traditional and ancestral
lands upon which we stand.
[0:41] - [Bradley] By recognizing this history,
[0:43] we honor the resilience and
knowledge of indigenous peoples
[0:46] who have preserved their cultures,
[0:48] despite a tumultuous
history of colonization.
[0:51] Land acknowledgements like Robbinsdale's
[0:53] encourages us to come
together as a community,
[0:56] fostering a sense of unity and
empathy towards each other,
[1:00] and the environment we share.
[1:02] - Together, let us acknowledge
the land and honor the people
[1:05] who have been its guardians for centuries.
[1:08] - May this simple act pave the
way for a deeper connection
[1:11] to our shared history and
a more equitable world.
[1:15] - The Robbinsdale Area
Schools Land Acknowledgement.
[1:19] We acknowledge Robbinsdale Area Schools
[1:21] is located on the homelands of
the Dakota and Ojibwe people.
[1:25] - [Beth] We recognize the
painful history of genocide
[1:28] and forced assimilation
[1:30] of the indigenous
inhabitants of this land.
[1:33] We honor and respect the
many indigenous people
[1:36] who live on and hold sacred these lands,
[1:38] and we stand with members of these nations
[1:41] to fight injustice in all its forms.
[1:44] - [Bradley] We uphold the preservation
[1:45] of Dakota and Ojibwe languages,
[1:47] land-based education,
and tribal sovereignty.
[1:57] - [Beth] The land acknowledgement
is posted and displayed
[1:59] in all of the buildings, but
it goes deeper than that.
[2:02] It's learning about the
actual history of our people.
[2:06] - In order to honor the
language in the statement,
[2:09] they have to create a plan of action.
[2:12] So with schools, for example,
[2:14] it's one thing to say that
[2:16] this land was at one point
[2:18] a Native American or indigenous land,
[2:21] but if it stops there
[2:22] and they don't learn
about the indigenous arts,
[2:26] the indigenous economies,
[2:27] the indigenous societies that were here,
[2:31] it almost doesn't do a service
for the acknowledgement.
[2:33] - [Yvonne] We didn't have a lot of
[2:34] Indian education programs growing up,
[2:37] so we didn't know much about our culture.
[2:39] It's just that, you know,
we went to our reservation
[2:41] and seen when we attended
pow-wows and gatherings and such.
[2:44] I just think that if we're acknowledging
[2:47] what's going on today through
education, through curriculum,
[2:50] that it would help, you know,
spark the interest more.
[2:52] - The history in the state of Minnesota
[2:55] is really understanding what
happened to the Dakota people
[2:58] and the exile and some of
those hard, really hard stories
[3:03] that really shaped
Minnesota as we know it,
[3:07] and when we understand that history,
[3:09] that's just one small way to pay homage to
[3:12] what our Dakota and Ojibwe people,
[3:16] the work and contributions that we do
[3:18] as indigenous people goes on.
[3:21] - I want to pass on hope
to the next generation,
[3:25] and in doing so, they won't
have to go through the fights
[3:29] that we've had to go through
over the past few decades
[3:31] and the ancestors had to go through
[3:33] over the past couple hundred years.
[3:37] - [Beth] I think a land
acknowledgement is a beginning,
[3:41] and when I think of how far we've come,
[3:43] it just warms my heart
because now this is out there
[3:47] and it makes me think of
what else the future can hold
[3:51] and how we can change our
history going forward.
[3:55] For more information, visit our website,
[3:58] rdale.org/landacknowledgement.
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