New England College Personnel Association (NECPA) would like to acknowledge that the land we live and work on today has long served as a site of meeting and exchange among a number of Indigenous peoples.

The New England area is home to the Abenaki, Mahican, Mohegan, Wampanoag, Minisink (Munsee), Pequot, Nipmuc, Quiripi, Massachuett, Niantic, Pokanoket, Pennacook, and Narragansett tribes, which includes the Cowasuck, Chappaquidick, Hassanamisco, Mashpee, Nulhegan, Pocomtuc, Mattabesic, Paugusett, and Schaghticoke bands and communities.

NECPA honors and respects the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather. We encourage you to learn more about these tribes today and moving forward and how we can support  Native people.

What is a Land Acknowledgment?

A Land Acknowledgement is a formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories.

Why do we recognize the land?

To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation to those whose territory you reside on, and a way of honoring the Indigenous people who have been living and working on the land from time immemorial. It is important to understand the long standing history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation. It is also worth noting that acknowledging the land is Indigenous protocol.

–http://www.lspirg.org/knowtheland