by the entire editorial board of the Babbling Bear

Whether or not you are observing Thanksgiving Day, or the Day of Mourning recognized by Indigenous Peoples in America to protest the racism and oppression that Indigenous Peoples continue to experience today, the entire editorial board of the Babbling Bear urge everyone in the Cornell Community to begin their day with a new and more complete  Land Acknowledgement:

The original land acknowledgment says:

“Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ are members of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, an alliance of six sovereign nations with a historic and contemporary presence on this land. The confederacy precedes the establishment of Cornell University, New York state and the United States of America. We acknowledge the painful history of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫɁ people, past and present, to these lands and waters.”

However, this land acknowledgement is incomplete and parochial given that Cornell University is also occupying the traditional homelands of the Indigenous Peoples of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China–who themselves have a painful history of dispossession.

Therefore the Bear urges fair-minded and virtuous Cornellians to also acknowledge the painful history of the dispossession of land of the Indigenous Peoples of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China by People of Color and honor the ongoing connection of  Indigenous Peoples of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and China, past and present, to these lands and, if present, waters.