American Indian & Indigenous Studies Program

Cornell University is located on the traditional homelands of the Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' (the Cayuga Nation). The Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' 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꞉nǫ' dispossession, and honor the ongoing connection of Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' people, past and present, to these lands and waters.

AIISP has submitted this land acknowledgment to traditional Gayogo̱hó꞉nǫ' leaders for their consideration and approval. We will post a final version as soon as it is available.

AIISP launched the Cornell University and Indigenous Dispossession Project in June 2020 to research Cornell’s ties to violence and displacement through its landholdings in New York state, the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862, and other takings of Indigenous homelands. This project was prompted by a March 2020 article in High Country News that exposed the ties between Indigenous dispossession and the United States Land-Grant system, and Cornell’s prominent role in that process. AIISP has produced a blog that contains informative articles, videos and audio podcasts produced by faculty, students, alumni and members of the Indigenous communities affected by Cornell’s actions. AIISP plans diplomatic outreach to more than 200 Indigenous nations affected by Cornell’s actions to discuss this history and possible remedies desired by the impacted communities.