Many OSU Organizations, including OSU’s Board of Trustees and the Associated Students of Oregon State University, mandate a land acknowledgement prior to the start of any official business. This is a requirement that has had a sweeping positive effect when it comes to making up for the centuries of oppression of Native Americans at the hands of colonial imperialists.

A spokesperson from the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde reiterated the importance and impact these statements have; “It warms the hearts of all of us to hear white people acknowledge that they are living, exploiting, and making a profit on stolen land, my ancestors, many of whom died at the hands of US politicians and generals, could only dream that some day those white men would be acknowledging that they are using land which once belonged to us.”

Many Indigenous Peoples and Indigenous People’s rights activists hope to see this practice extended. “It is great to see government organizations acknowledging they stole our land before proceeding with business as usual, but more could be done. I hope one day the many serial killers, rapists, and criminals who victimize our community in the knowledge that police are significantly less likely to pursue an investigation decide to follow suit, and issue similar statements acknowledging so before victimizing members of our community.”