University land acknowledgment statements are intended to honor and respect the Indigenous tribes that have lived on the land on which institutions and universities are built, oftentimes as a byproduct of erasure and colonization. Alone, without any kind of action, they can be performative. But at the least, they are a start, a way for a university to promote an atmosphere of respect for Indigenous people.

The Philadelphia-based universities that currently have a statement in place are: the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Haverford College, Swarthmore College, Bryn Mawr College, University of the Arts, Villanova University, Ursinus College and Drexel University. Many more institutions outside of the Philadelphia region also have such statements.

St. Joe’s does not have an approved land acknowledgment statement.

We applaud the faculty, students and staff who began discussions about a land acknowledgment statement almost two years ago at the university’s 2022 Day of Dialogue and those who joined the
Indigenous Cultures and Communities Working Group that formed shortly after.

We also applaud the University Faculty Senate for endorsing the Working Group’s statement in May 2023, which recognizes that St. Joe’s is located on the ancestral homeland of the Lenape peoples, who lived there for more than 10,000 years prior to European imperial colonization. The endorsed statement promises that the university commits to “building meaningful relationships with Lenape and other Indigenous communities to inform advancing teaching materials, scholarship, arts, academic programs, sustainability practices, and community engagement that honor and uplift Indigenous knowledge and practices.”

But, nearly three years since discussions began, we’re still waiting for that statement to become official. We’re still waiting to hear it read before university-wide events and incorporated into class syllabi. We’re still waiting for that promise of meaningful connections with the Lenape and other Indigenous tribes.

We call on the University Student Senate to help push for this statement to be enacted. We also call on the university to honor the efforts of the Indigenous Cultures and Communities Working Group and not wait any longer to make this statement official.