This area where we are gathered today has a complex and rich history with many Indigenous People residing on this land, both in the past and today.

We want to honor:

• The Indigenous Peoples who were removed or erased from their traditional homelands here; including the Mesquaki, Sauk and Fox, Dakota Oyáte, Ioway, Miami, Kickapoo and Mascouten; and the Nations whose names we will never know;
• The Indigenous Peoples who most recently lived here as a nation: the Bodwe’wadmi (Keepers of the Fire), who reside here as part of the Three Fires Confederacy and are known today as the Potawatomi;
• Those whose ancestors were born in other places but have called this territory “home” for as far back as can be remembered:  the Ho-Chungra (People of the Sacred Voice), today known as the Ho-Chunk and the Mamaceqtawak (The People), known today as the Menominee.

Part of their narrative includes the colonization and illegal ceding of these lands and we want to acknowledge that. We also want to celebrate them now and honor them and their ancestors by making a donation and creating an action, both of which will be announced at Children’s Institute during the Opening Keynote.