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Mural # 

142

The Listening Tree of Life, Earth and Indigenous Wisdom

This Singing Tree led by Kathleen Brigidina was made with 300 people at an Elgin Community College Native American Heritage Month event, called "The Great Listening." The purpose of the event was to honor the voices of all indigenous people and the Mother Earth.


The Elgin Community College District 509 Board of Trustees approved the college’s first Indigenous Land Acknowledgment Statement at the Dec.13, 2022, regular meeting. The statement was researched and drafted by students in Antonio Ramirez, PhD, professor of history’s new HIS-150, History of Native America, course.


“This is an important first step towards building more awareness of Indigenous people and issues, past and present, on ECC’s campus,” said Ramirez. “I believe that the students learned a lot through this process, and so did I.”


The official statement reads:

We acknowledge that Elgin Community College currently sits on the traditional homelands of Anishinaabe peoples, also known as the Three Fires Confederacy: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi. Many (All) other Native peoples also lived on this land and in this region.


Forced removal and violence, including the 1804 Treaty of St. Louis and the 1829 Treaty of Prairie du Chien, made way for European settlements, which eventually included the land where our campus sits.

Native peoples have survived attempts to erase their culture, language, and heritage but continue to thrive on this land.


Elgin Community College commits to sharing this history and promises to help cultivate a bright future for Native peoples on campus and beyond.


Let this statement allow us to open our ears and sincerely listen to the voices of Native peoples. Let it be the beginning of a continuing, deep, and respectful relationship between ECC and Native peoples.

Facilitator:

Kathleen Brigidina

Partners: 

Location:

Elgin Community College, Spartan Drive, Elgin, IL, USA

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