Emory’s commitment to learn from the Muscogee Nation “May this gift serve as a symbol of healing and hope … and as a reminder of our mutual respect for each other and for the land as a source of life and learning,” Bellamkonda said. The plant is native to Georgia and other Southern states and was sourced by Emory medical ethnobotanist Cassandra Quave, who has researched its medicinal use by Muscogee and other Native American tribes. The provost then presented Hill with a framed image of the Callicarpa americana plant (American Beautyberry). Hill gave Bellamkonda an official Muscogee Nation flag. The reception concluded with an exchange of gifts. Today the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, headquartered in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, is the fourth largest tribe in the U.S., with more than 86,000 citizens. "This land, this sky, these trees rejoice to hear the language spoken again,” he said. “Emory seeks to honor the Muscogee Nation and other Indigenous caretakers of this land by humbly seeking knowledge of their histories and committing to respectful stewardship of the land.”īellamkonda paid homage to that history when he noted how wonderful it was to hear the language of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation spoken as part of the reception. “We recognize the sustained oppression, land dispossession, and involuntary removals of the Muscogee and Cherokee peoples from Georgia and the Southeast,” the university’s Land Acknowledgment states. I just appreciate Emory being a part of the healing process of what is sometimes a horrific story.”Įmory University was founded in Oxford, Georgia, in 1836 - 15 years after the Muscogee were forced to relinquish the land through the First Treaty of Indian Springs. “This is just the first step of many steps we will take together. ![]() “This is not just a partnership it’s also a part of a healing process,” Beaver told the group. Second Chief of the Muscogee Nation Del Beaver said the Nation appreciates Emory’s willingness to explore its history. Hosting the Muscogee Nation delegation “shows the commitment from Emory to invest in our Native students and grow our Native faculty here,” said Michel, who introduced the delegation at the event.Ĭreating partnerships with universities, especially those doing the work to acknowledge their history, is a priority to ensure opportunities for Indigenous students and educators, said Muscogee Nation Principal Chief David Hill. “ was actually Emory positioning themselves to listen and comprehend how best to center Indigenous knowledge and support Native faculty and students,” Michel said during the reception. ![]() She noted the Muscogee Nation leaders were gathering at Emory’s campus nearly three years to the day from when the university held its Native American Student Symposium in 2018. This has been some of the most important work we have been doing.” ‘The first step of many steps we will take together’īeth Michel, associate dean of admission, is a program leader in Emory’s Native American Initiative and a Tohono O'odham Nation citizen. “We have been seeking to understand and acknowledge our past. “Emory's motto is ‘The wise heart seeks knowledge,’” said Provost Ravi V. Matowacipi Horse, a second-year student in Emory College who is a citizen of the Comanche Nation, read the Land Acknowledgment at the reception. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation delegation visit came nearly two months after Emory’s Board of Trustees approved an official Land Acknowledgment recognizing the Indigenous nations who were displaced in the years before Emory’s founding. 17 at an outdoor gathering on the quadrangle in front of Convocation Hall, one of the first buildings on Emory’s Atlanta campus, which was constructed more than a century ago. Emory recently held a special reception to welcome leaders from the Muscogee (Creek) Nation to campus as an early step toward honoring the Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants and stewards of the land on which Emory now sits.Ī group of faculty, staff and students greeted the Muscogee (Creek) Nation delegation on Nov.
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