The Sisters of Saint Francis Invite You to a Land Acknowledgment Ceremony
October 5, 2023 | 6:30pm | Assisi Heights, Rochester, MN
The public is invited. No charge to attend.
The Sisters of Saint Francis are holding a special ceremony at 6:30pm on Thursday, October 5, 2023, to honor the sacred ground Assisi Heights is located on, the ancestral land of the Dakota and Ho-Chunk peoples. The ceremony includes a special prayer, reflection and message of gratitude. (See statement below.) Participating in this ceremony will be representatives of the Dakota Peoples.
An Indigenous Land Acknowledgment is an effort to recognize the Indigenous past, present, and future of a particular location and to understand our own place within that relationship. It is:
- an important way to understand the history that has brought us to reside on this land;
- a celebration of indigenous communities who were the original inhabitants of the area where we live;
- a simple way of resisting the erasure of indigenous histories & working toward honoring and inviting the truth;
- a sincere action, and includes a pledge of how we can repair by our actions (i.e.) honoring mother earth; working for native peoples’ treaties; consciousness-raising, etc.
In doing so, we need to:
- always be aware of the names of the tribes, to recognize they are still here. In our case, here in Rochester they are the Dakota and Ho-Chunk Peoples;
- understand the native peoples’ displacement & the fact that to this day, all treaties are not honored; and
- to show respect and gratitude to indigenous people.
What needs to be done:
- Recognize and mention this at beginning of any gathering (meetings, webinars, church services, community events).
- Make a pledge to repair with our actions.
For more information on this issue:
Video: Native Peoples talk about what Land Acknowledgment means to them.