Native American Heritage Month 2022
UI Health celebrates Native American Heritage Month. Native American Heritage Month was declared a monthlong observance in 1990 to celebrate and honor the achievements and numerous contributions that Native Americans have made to our country.
This commemorative month aims to provide a platform for Native and Indigenous people to share their culture, heritage, and experiences.
This year we are recognizing Native American Heritage Month by sharing UIC’s land acknowledgment and highlighting UIC’s educational campaign, “Acknowledge is a verb.”
Land Acknowledgment
We acknowledge that the University of Illinois at Chicago resides on the traditional Territories of the Three Fire Peoples – the Ojibwe, Odawa and Bodewadmi, purchased after two-and-a-half years of open warfare, decades of violent encroachment, and the defeat of a pan-Indian movement to keep settlers out of the Great Lakes region at the Treaty of Chicago in 1821, receiving their final payment before moving westward in 1835. The area was also a site of trade, gathering, and healing for more than a dozen other Native tribes.
Acknowledge is a Verb
However, as we extend our land acknowledgment, we must uphold that “acknowledge” is a verb. Our understanding and appreciation of Native and Indigenous people should not begin or end with the idea that Native Americans are “of the past” or represent any stereotypes. Instead, we must strive to demonstrate that “acknowledge is a verb.”
As part of the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), UI Health is proud to ensure the importance of the history of the land we occupy and the present Indigenous communities in our area are foundational to our institution. In this spirit, UI Health has adopted the UIC campaign, ‘Acknowledge is a Verb.’
In addition to land acknowledgments, we will collaborate with our Native American and Indigenous patients, staff, faculty, and community members to ensure our policies and practices actively support them.
Confirming our UI Health policies and practices:
- Create more equitable health and economic opportunities for Native American and Indigenous peoples.
- Work to eliminate harmful images and historical stereotypes.
- And recognize Native American and Indigenous people as contributing members of the UI Health and UIC communities.
Click here to learn more about UIC’s educational campaign “Acknowledge is a verb”.
