Native American Land Acknowledgment Research Guide

The University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus wishes to acknowledge and honor the Indigenous communities who lived and took stewardship of this land. The university recognizes that this campus was built on the Indigenous homelands and resources of the Seminole, Miccosukee, and Tocobaga people as well as their ancestors going back over 10,000 years. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from their territory, and we honor and respect the many diverse Indigenous people still connected to this land on which we gather. This is a call for all of us to commit to continuing to learn how to be better stewards of the land we inhabit. 

University of South Florida St. Petersburg campus land acknowledgment statement

"Acknowledging the people who came before."
USF St. Petersburg campus news, April 7, 2021.

A land acknowledgment is a “formal statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of this land and the enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories,” according to the American College Personnel Association.

"A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment."
Native Governance Center.

"Gestures take place across the country for Indigenous land acknowledgements."
By Beverly Bidney, The Seminole Tribune, January 6, 2021.

Department of Anthropology land acknowledgment statement
USF Tampa campus.