November is National Native American Heritage Month. Throughout this month and every day, WSU Vancouver recognizes the contributions of Native American communities, peoples and tribes to technology, sciences, philosophy, arts, and the deep cultural influences and knowledges that have and continue to shape this region.
To develop and maintain WSU Vancouver’s vital relationship with Native American tribes and peoples, the WSU Vancouver Office of Native American Programs, led by Campus Director of Native American Programs Julian Ankney Nimíipuu (Nez Perce), provides collaborative leadership to impact the lived experiences of students, staff and faculty from Native American communities and beyond. WSU Vancouver also receives recommendations from the Native American Community Advisory Board. The WSU Vancouver Office of Native American Programs has a strong partnership with the WSU Office of Tribal Relations, the Center for Native American Research and Collaboration, and Native American Programs. Together, they serve to promote initiatives, uplift Indigenous voices, and encourage responsible research, collaboration and interaction with tribes.
WSU Vancouver is located on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. The land that WSU Vancouver resides on continues to be integral to the lives and cultures of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley, their descendants and that their history is tied to this land since time immemorial.
WSU Vancouver is dedicated to recognizing the influential tribal histories of Native/Indigenous peoples in the region and the importance of the land on which we stand. We also recognize that each person of the Vancouver community continues to benefit from the occupation and use of these lands and understand that land acknowledgements are the beginning steps of our reciprocal efforts to uplift Indigenous voices, programming and curriculum.
WSU Vancouver acknowledges the responsibility to make visible the university’s relationship and commitment to Native peoples past and present. We acknowledge their presence here and recognize their continuing connection to the land, to the water and to their ancestors. WSU Vancouver expresses its deepest respect for and gratitude towards these original and current caretakers of the region. We pledge that these relationships will consist of mutual trust, respect and reciprocity.