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The Importance of Land and Labor Acknowledgements

A best practice observed at meetings and events hosted by our colleges is to acknowledge the indigenous peoples who lived on the land before us and whose descendants still live here with us today as well as the labor that built our country.

Land and Labor Acknowledgement

Today we recognize and honor the original occupants and stewards of the land where we now gather. Many of us are joining this meeting from lands that are the traditional home of the Coast Salish people, the traditional home of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot nations.

Today, we honor the survival, the adaptations, the forced assimilation, and the resilience and creativity of Native peoples—past, present, and future. We encourage participants to consider their responsibilities to the people and land, both here and elsewhere, and to stand in solidarity with Native, Indigenous, and First Nations People, and their sovereignty, cultural heritage, and lives.

We also pause to recognize and acknowledge the labor upon which our country, state, and institutions are built.

We remember that our country is built on the labor of enslaved people who were kidnapped and brought to the U.S. from the African continent and recognize the continued contribution of their survivors. We also acknowledge all immigrant labor, including voluntary, involuntary, trafficked, forced, and undocumented peoples who contributed to the building of the country and continue to serve within our labor force. We acknowledge all unpaid care-giving labor.

To the people who contributed this immeasurable work and their descendants, we acknowledge our/their indelible mark on the space in which we gather today. It is our collective responsibility to critically interrogate these histories, to repair harm, and to honor, protect, and sustain this land.

Dr. Valerie Hunt, former Associate Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at Seattle Central College, gives the land and labor acknowledgement at the 49th Annual Seattle Colleges Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., held January 17, 2022. This video captures the spirit of reading the acknowledgement at an event.
Dr. Betsy Hasegawa, former Associate Vice President of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at South Seattle College, explains the importance of these acknowledgements in this video from January 2021.

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