Brown publicly acknowledges university sits on Narragansett tribe’s ancestral land

BROWN UNIVERSITY President Christina H. Paxson announced in a letter Tuesday that the university formally acknowledges its campus in Providence sits on land previously occupied by the Narragansett Indian Tribe. / COURTESY BROWN UNIVERSITY

PROVIDENCE – Brown University Tuesday formally acknowledged its campus sits on land previously occupied by the Narragansett Indian Tribe, following a year-long study that involved the tribe.

In a letter to the college community, Brown University President Christina H. Paxson announced the land acknowledgement, which is supported by the Narragansett Indian Tribe. It is part of a set of commitments that came from the study by a working group Paxson formed in March 2021.

“Brown University is located … on lands that are within the ancestral homelands of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. We acknowledge that beginning with colonization and continuing for centuries the Narragansett Indian Tribe have been dispossessed of most of their ancestral lands in Rhode Island by the actions of individuals and institutions,” Paxton said. “We acknowledge our responsibility to understand and respond to those actions. The Narragansett Indian Tribe, whose ancestors stewarded these lands with great care, continues as a sovereign nation today. We commit to working together to honor our past and build our future with truth.”

The set of the commitments, which arose from the working group of students, faculty and administrators and members of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, include:

- Advertisement -
  • Adopt the official land acknowledgment statement, as well as provide education and guidance for its optional use. While there are no requirements for its use, guidance is offered for those who choose to offer land acknowledgments at events and gatherings held in Providence.
  • Commission and support new original scholarship regarding the origins and founding of Brown and its relationships to the Indigenous peoples in and around what is now southern New England.
  • Establish a group to work closely with the Narragansett Indian Tribe to explore how Brown can honor and memorialize its College Hill location as part of the homeland of the Narragansett people.
  • Support increased educational opportunities and access for youth of the Narragansett Indian Tribe and other tribal youth from New England.
  • Increase investment in the Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative and the Native Americans at Brown student organization.

“Committing to a set of actions to educate our community and support broader engagement with the tribe and other Indigenous peoples of the region is critical to understanding our shared history and developing strong relationships,” Paxson said. “The deep reflection and historical context that accompanied the [working group’s] recommendations laid the groundwork for the important work we’ll do as a community.”

The working group met with Narragansett Tribal Medicine Man and Historic Preservation Officer John Brown on the tribal reservation in Charlestown and also engaged in regular dialogue with members of the Narragansett Tribe.

“This work enabled all of us to think more deeply about what ‘land acknowledgment’ can really mean,” said Rae Gould, executive director of Brown’s Native American and Indigenous Studies Initiative, who co-chaired the group.

Gould added that it’s important that the university understands it is only a first step toward building greater understanding.

“It needs to be more than a performative statement recited before an event or gathering. It needs to have meaning and depth,” Gould said. “It needs to help respond to the history of dispossession in some way — and we can’t determine what that might mean in a few months or even a year. Figuring that out takes time, patience and layers of conversations.”

No posts to display