Pride Points

Located in the heart of one of the world’s great cities, the University of Illinois Chicago is the city’s largest university and only public research institution. Its 16 academic colleges serve nearly 34,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UIC is recognized as one of the most ethnically rich and culturally diverse campuses in the nation, a leader in providing access to underrepresented students. With one of the largest colleges of medicine in the nation, and colleges of dentistry, pharmacy, public health, nursing, social work, and applied health sciences, UIC is the state’s principal educator of health professionals and its academic health center is a major health care provider to underserved communities. UIC students become professionals in fields ranging from law and business to engineering to education, liberal arts and sciences, urban planning, law and social work, as well as architecture, design and the arts. UIC is an integral part of the educational, technological, and cultural fabric of one of the world’s greatest cities.

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In the spirit of building a better future and healing, we would like to acknowledge that we are on land that Indigenous peoples have inhabited since time immemorial. With the intention of progressing institutional practices that honor and support Native peoples, we must first acknowledge of the original peoples of the Chicagoland area – the Three Fires Confederacy: Potawatomi [pow-tuh-waa-tuh-mee], Odawa [oh-da-wah] and Ojibwe [Oh-jeeb-way], Nations, as well as other Tribal Nations that know this area as their homelands, including the Menominee [muh-naa-muh-nee], Ho-Chunk [ho-chuh-nk], Miami [my-ah-mee], Peoria [pee-aw-ree-uh], and Sac [sak]and Fox [faaks]. Chicago is the current home to one of the largest urban Native American communities in the United States, and it was a primary relocation site during the mid-20th century as a result of federal policies aimed to terminate Tribal communities and sovereignty. Native people are part of Chicago’s past, present, and future.

As part of a land grant university system that occupies and benefits from the theft of Indigenous lands, we have a responsibility to Native American community members at UIC, in Chicago, within the United States, and around the world. Acknowledgment is doing. This statement today serves as a placeholder as we work in the coming months to invite conversations and partnerships with Native communities near and far. We know that our work to increase visibility, support, and partnership with Native communities at UIC is just beginning. We cannot truly engage in acknowledgment until we have commitments in place to create tangible and ongoing changes in policy and action to build a community with Native people that privileges their voices.

• "Acknowledge" is a verb

At UIC, we strive to be a place where everyone feels welcome and where all people – no matter what color, race, ancestry, age, sex, interests, sexual orientation including gender identity, religion, disability, national origin, or marital status – can share perspectives and viewpoints to learn from one another. We care deeply about all members of our community, and we are committed to maintaining a campus climate that respects and advances tolerance, inclusion and diversity.

• UIC's Diversity Strategic Plan