Auburn University
Land Acknowledgement Project
SUST 5000: Senior Capstone in Sustainability
This project's ultimate purpose is to lay the groundwork in order to encourage more upper-level administration dialogue about how necessary land acknowledgement is at Auburn University. Our project focuses on Auburn's history with the Morrill Act and how our land-grant title is rooted in stolen lands and the displacement of Native Americans; a fact largely unacknowledged by the university. Outputs related to this history, land acknowledgement statements, and potential action plans have been developed for this project and can be accessed throughout this site. We also hope that this project inspires further research in this area on the local level and a statement acknowledging the land that the university sits upon is developed in the near future, potentially by future SUST 5000 students.
Sustainability Rationale
This project has identified 5 major areas where sustainability will be increased through the implementation of our outputs and further research.
Honoring the Truth: The first step in addressing any problem should be to research what is the ultimate truth and what is the historical context of the issue at hand. This is necessary for a land acknowledgement project to ever provide any real value or meaning to the indigenous and non-indigenous communities they include. The history of The Morrill Act, land-grant schools, displacement & attacks on indigenous peoples, rewrites of history, and Auburn University is complex & mostly unacknowledged now. The dark truth is being brought to light via the research aspect of this project and this information that is needed to accompany land acknowledgement will be made widely available to all. Another aspect of honoring the truth is honoring the people who were disrupted and oppressed, i.e., the native communities. Documenting both their histories and their presence today is an important task when developing land acknowledgement statements. This fight for justice and truth falls within the sixteenth UN Sustainable Development Goal, ‘Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions.’
Building Partnerships & Connections: Sustainable development includes building partnerships. In fact, the seventeenth UN Sustainable Development Goals is all about building collaborative partnerships between diverse groups. Currently, there is a huge disconnect between Auburn University and indigenous communities, especially our Native American students. This project aims to be a catalyst for developing true and invigorating partnerships for sustainable goals, collaborative research projects, and campus diversity. Partnering with tribal communities, when done with the benefit of Native Americans as the ultimate goal, has many benefits. As a part of the action plan section of this project, these partnerships will be recognized as a necessary component and plans for partnerships will be proposed in multiple aspects and with a few, equally beneficial and viable variations.
Equitable Education: Education remains one of the most important and pivotal aspects of sustainable development, social equity, and opportunity across the globe and is the fourth UN SDG. In a university that was created to perpetuate higher education and economic advancement, unequitable educational opportunities fall short of the university’s expressed vision and goals. Auburn University has failed its Native American students by not providing attention to their needs, barriers, and goals. More action plans will be proposed in this project that relate to developing a better on-campus experience for native students, developing a native-oriented curriculum option, and offering hands-on, impactful internship opportunities
Social Inclusion: The United Nations considers equity and social inclusion to be one of its main shared principles and commitments, as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Many of the seventeen UN SDGs include social inclusion as a tool for completing objectives, even ones that do not outwardly represent social sustainability. Native American culture and social inclusion underpins all facets of this project. During the research, statement development, and action proposal facets of this project, culture has been celebrated and honored. There are many curated and intentional action plans proposed that will highlight increased indigenous social inclusion on campus.
Environmental Impacts: Grass-roots indigenous movements are being centered around land-rights, conservation of traditional practices, and equitable access to resources. The thirteenth and fifteenth UN SDGs, climate action and life on land, will see progress through this project’s research and action plans. Considering Auburn’s responsibility to give back to native communities, donating to and partnering with native organizations fighting for eco-related rights and regulations will make a huge impact on environmental sustainability. Also developing collaborative research projects is an aspect of our proposals. These co-grant research projects with native communities can have great environmental impacts; restoring ecosystems, enhancing native food sovereignty efforts, and gathering data about climate change using an indigenous framework and point of view.
