UT Arlington dedicates courtyard to Native American history with land acknowledgment
UT Arlington now has a courtyard dedicated to remembering the Native American people who lived on the land long before the university was around.
About 200 people gathered Monday outside the Roundhouse Planetarium Building, near the central library, for the land acknowledgment and the unveiling of a 2-ton granite boulder upon which a plaque has been mounted to commemorate the Wichita and Cato tribes that lived on the land before.
A land acknowledgment is a ceremony to dedicate the remembrance of Native American people and tribes who lived in the are before they were forcibly removed by the U.S. government.
“The Roundhouse Planetarium is perfect for this site, because this site is dedicated to the first people who looked up to the stars,” Native American Student Association president Samson Dewey said at the dedication.
UT Arlington announced at the land acknowledgment, held on Indigenous People’s Day, that the university is also planning a new scholarship for Native American students and will have art exhibits featuring Native American art.
Les Riding-In, associate dean for the graduate liberal arts college and adviser to the Native American Student Association, said UT Arlington is a place where Native American students can know they are not invisible and that their history and culture are appreciated.
“UTA has become a place where Native American students have come to call home for years,” Riding-In, a member of the Pawnee and Osage tribes, said. “This will ensure that everyone has a chance to acknowledge the history of Native Americans who lived on this land long before any of us.”
This story was originally published October 11, 2022 at 6:07 PM.