ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University is located within the traditional homelands of the Myaamia and Shawnee people, who along with other indigenous groups ceded these lands to the United States in the first Treaty of Greenville in 1795. The ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú people, whose name our university carries, were forcibly removed from these homelands in 1846.
In 1972, a relationship between ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University and the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Tribe of Oklahoma began and evolved into a reciprocal partnership, including the creation of the Myaamia Center at ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University in 2001. The work of the Myaamia Center serves the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Tribe community and is dedicated to the revitalization of ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú language and culture and to restoring that knowledge to the Myaamia people.
ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University and the ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú Tribe are proud of this work and of the more than 140 Myaamia students who have attended ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú since 1991 through the Myaamia Heritage Award Program.
The ÍÃ×ÓÏÈÉú University land acknowledgement is available for those wishing to use it.
"Acknowledgment is a simple, powerful way of showing respect and a step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase indigenous people's history and culture and toward inviting and honoring the truth." "Acknowledgment by itself is a small gesture. It becomes meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and informed action. But this beginning can be an opening to greater public consciousness of Native sovereignty and cultural rights, a step toward equitable relationship and reconciliation." U.S. Department of Arts and Culture
Our mission is to empower each student, staff, and faculty member to promote and become engaged citizens who use their acquired knowledge and skills with integrity and compassion to improve the future of the community and the world.
