Land Acknowledgment
Eighth Street Mennonite Church adopted a land acknowledgment statement in March 2021 following a three-year process of education and participatory activities. In 2024, a revised statement was approved by the Church Board. The new version adds the Myaamiaki (Miami) to the Bodéwadmi (Potawatomi) as original inhabitants of our land. The commitments were revised include to repair and restitution as well as advocacy for Indigenous sovereignty.
The Land Acknowledgment Team revised the statement in consultation with cultural representatives of the Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi and the Citizen Potawatomi Nation.
A Pokagon Band artist, Aaron Martin, created a turtle image with indigenous symbols to accompany the statement. Miami ribbon art represented on the lower border of the revised statement was designed by Cynthia Friesen Coyle in consultation with Diane Hunter, Miami Tribal Historic Preservation Officer (retired).
The Land Acknowledgment Team guides the congregation in advancing the commitments of the statement.
With courage and humility, we commit to
- deepening our appreciation of their history, their resilience and their flourishing communities in Michiana, the Great Lakes region, Kansas and Oklahoma.
- advocating for the sovereignty of the Potawatomi, the Miami and other Indigenous Nations.
- promoting awareness of ongoing unjust treatment of Indigenous Peoples and engaging in the work of repair and restitution.
- joining with Indigenous Peoples in caring for this land and for all of creation
