Oread Friends (Quaker) Monthly Meeting
Second Month 9th, 2025
A land acknowledgment statement is a respectful recognition of Indigenous peoples’ deep historical ties to the land. It is an opportunity to honor their enduring presence, to acknowledge past injustices, and to promote awareness of Indigenous cultures. This practice fosters inclusivity and encourages dialogue about reconciliation while emphasizing the significance of the land in shaping our shared history.
The Oread Friends Meeting of Lawrence, Kansas acknowledges that our meeting house is built, and our lives take place, on the ancestral homelands and forcible resettlement territories of several Tribal Nations, including the Kansa/Kaw, the Delaware/Lenape, the Osage, the Shawnee, and the Wyandotte Nations. We support the sovereignty of the four federally recognized Tribal Nations present in Kansas today: the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, the Kickapoo Tribe of Kansas, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska.
Many peoples have lived in relationship with and cultivated this land, built communities, named the flora and fauna, and been forcibly moved to and away from Douglas County and the neighboring region. This traditional territory was not a single property with border lines but was maintained by Tribal peoples as responsible stewards. Oread Friends recognize the enduring relationship that exists tying these Tribal Nations to the land, and we understand that elements of the land remain embedded in their Tribal identities, cultures, and languages.
We find ourselves fortunate to be in the same town with Haskell Indian Nations University (HINU), and we are supportive of HINU’s historical stewardship of the Wakarusa wetlands, which continues in their present-day joint stewardship of the Haskell-Baker Wetlands. We look forward to developing our relationship with HINU in the future and furthering this support.
We acknowledge that we are not the first to inhabit this land and will not be the last. We will endeavor to honor this heritage and to pass it on in a loving manner to the people who come after us. While we are stewards of this land, we will welcome everyone. We look forward to future partnerships and collaborations that honor this acknowledgement.
Note: Portions of this statement were borrowed from the Acknowledgments of the Topeka Friends Meeting, the Topeka Public Library, and the KU University Theatre, and it includes information from the Kansas Association for Native American Education (KANAE) Land Acknowledgment Toolkit.
Leave a Reply