The Arboretum on the WashU Danforth Campus is located on the ancestral lands of the Osage, Missouri and Illinois people, who were removed unjustly, and we in this community acknowledge that we are the beneficiaries of that removal.
Many other indigenous peoples, including the Quapaw, Omaha, Ponca, Kaw, Ioway, Otoe, and those who came before them, lived here for many thousands of years. In addition, the Cherokee, Shawnee, Sac, Fox, Potawatomi, Kickapoo, Illini, Missouri and Delaware are among those who lived here before, again being forced to relocate.
Today, there are over 183,400 Native Americans living in Missouri. We honor them, and their ancestors, as we live, work, and study here at Washington University. But this is only the first step. As an academic community our next step is to do the work of learning about the Native Americans with connections to this land and to follow through by working for environmental justice.
