Land & Labor Acknowledgments

Why are Land Acknowledgements Important?

A land acknowledgement is an important recognition of the territory Project 41, 12 resides on and honors the Indigenous People who continue to live on the land. To not offer a land acknowledgement is to be complicit in the erasure of native peoples. As educators, we have a responsibility to engage ourselves and the learners we support to understand the history of the land we inhabit. A land acknowledgement is the first step toward being mindful of our participation in the ongoing process of colonization and building bridges with Native people to work for the historical and contemporary celebration of their cultures.

Why are there multiple Land Acknowledgments?

As an organization with members in different places across the United States, it is important to acknowledge the impacts on Indigenous peoples in each location. We commit to raising awareness of these people’s past, present, and future.

Ohio Land Acknowledgement

Indigenous peoples have inhabited Northeast Ohio for thousands of years, including the Erie, Miami, Ottawa, Shawnee, Wyandot, and other communities, and continue to live and work in these lands. Colonization has had, and continues to have, a profound impact on their lives and cultures. Acknowledging their historic and ongoing relationships with this land is an important step towards reconciliation and healing. We are committed to working together with Indigenous peoples to create a more just and equitable future, where their sovereignty, cultures, and histories are fully recognized and celebrated.

For more information about the historic and systemic treatment of Indigenous People in the Northeast Ohio region, please follow the links below:

Washington Land Acknowledgement

When colonization began in the Pacific Northwest, Southwest Washington was inhabited by the Chinook and Cowlitz tribes. Additionally, numerous other tribes from the broader Pacific Northwest frequented this region, engaging in trade aided by the Columbia River and its interconnected water routes.

For over a thousand years, the Chinook, Cowlitz, and other smaller tribes have lived in deep relationship with this land, nurturing sustainable ways of life rooted in harmony with the natural world. As educators, we are called to engage both ourselves and the learners we support in understanding this history. Today, we uplift Indigenous values—wisdom passed down through generations and are alive in practice. A land acknowledgement is one step toward recognizing our place in the ongoing story of colonization and affirming our commitment to building respectful, reciprocal relationships honoring the past and present of Indigenous cultures.

For more information on the Indigenous People in the Pacific Northwest region, please follow the links below:

Labor Acknowledgement

We empower our community to confront the uncomfortable truths woven into the fabric of our nation, truths speaking to the enduring legacy of stolen labor and exploitation. Our country and our institutions stand on foundations laid by enslaved peoples, including but not limited to Indigenous peoples and people of African descent. Many were forced from their homes and into servitude. Enslaved peoples’ labor, extracted through violence and coercion, laid the groundwork for the vast wealth and prosperity enjoyed by the few while their humanity was denied.

Immigrant labor, both voluntary and coerced, has shaped our nation's landscape. From the Chinese immigrants who built the railroads, Japanese Americans who faced internment and dispossession during World War II, to the migrant agricultural workers from the Philippines, Mexico, and Central and South America. Contributions and experiences by those marginalized by race, ethnicity, age, and status are woven into the very framework of our society. The unpaid caregiving labor, often performed by women, sustaining our communities remains undervalued and invisible.

Child labor and exploitation is a violation of human rights. As an organization dedicated to the training and development of adults working with children and adolescents, we acknowledge the significant historical role of child labor in the construction and development of the United States. Maria Montessori called the child the forgotten citizen, and as Montessori educators, it is our responsibility to uplift the child and to make known their historically excluded stories.

Despite systemic oppression, these communities have continuously resisted, organized, and led social progress. Reflecting on these histories, we must recognize the profound debt we owe to those whose labor built this nation. The theft of generational progress is our collective responsibility — to reckon with these truths, to repair the harm inflicted, and create a future where all labor is valued, all contributions are honored, and all individuals are afforded dignity and justice.