UNC Greensboro recognized the indigenous communities who have inhabited the land where the University is now located in a special ceremony Monday evening at the Intercultural Resource Center on campus.
The Office of Intercultural Engagement partnered with the Native American Student Association for a special Land Acknowledgment Plaque Dedication ceremony.
The event included remarks by Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam, Jr. and Native American students and community leaders, cultural performances, and the official unveiling of the plaque.
Gilliam called the event “a great example of the exceptional work our student organizations do here at UNCG.”
“With the Office of Intercultural Engagement, our goal and our mission is to bring people from a range of backgrounds together to create learning opportunities about history and culture. It is these kinds of activities that enrich us all,” Gilliam said.
The text on the plaque reads as follows:
This plaque serves to acknowledge that the land we are gathered on has long served as the site of meeting and exchange amongst a number of Indigenous peoples, specifically the Keyauwee and Saura.
Additionally, North Carolina has been home to many Indigenous peoples at various points in time, including the tribes/nations of: Bear River/Bay River, Cape Fear, Catawba, Chowanoke, Coree/Coranine, Creek, Croatan, Eno, Hatteras, Keyauwee, Machapunga, Moratoc, Natchez, Neusiok, Pamlico, Shakori, Sara/Cheraw, Sissipahaw, Sugeree, Wateree, Weapemeoc, Woccon, Yadkin, and Yeopim.
Today, North Carolina recognizes 8 tribes: Coharie, Lumbee, Meherrin, Occaneechi Saponi, Haliwa Saponi, Waccamaw Siouan, Sappony, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee.
We honor and respect the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather.
Photography by Martin W. Kane, University Communications
