L A N D A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T

houseguest/YARDSIDE recognizes the harm caused during centuries of forced assimilation, relocation, and genocide, and the lasting systemic effects Indigenous peoples endure today. Major tribes that lived on the land that is now called Kentucky are the Shawnee, Cherokee, Osage, Adena, and Hopewell. These cultures had many traditions and customs that were both unique to individual tribes and shared across them. Indigenous peoples have inhabited Kentucky for over 12,000 years.(1) They built permanent settlements that were inhabited for hundreds to thousands of years at a time.(2) Forced removal has led these groups elsewhere in the United States, but large populations still remain in Kentucky. According to 2010 Census data, there are over 30,000 Native Americans who still live in the Bluegrass state.(3) Currently, the Cherokee, Shawnee, and Osage have headquarters in Oklahoma.


Louisville, Kentucky is a city deeply rooted in colonization and forced removal of Indigenous people. Colonization is “the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.”(4) Colonization is a daily practice in America, and we must work to combat this by acknowledging the harm done to Native Americans in the past and present, while amplifying their voices and listening to their needs.

Systemic Maintenance of Indigenous Oppression in America

Indigenous peoples still face discrimination, oppression, and assimilation today in healthcare, education, and the workplace due to these spaces being primarily white/non-Native. Predominantly white spaces are the direct result of white supremacy and a history of imperialism, colonialism, and racist thinking that leads to gaps in quality of schooling,  healthcare, and labor compensation. By acknowledging these realities, we as a society can work towards correcting the systems that harm Indigenous peoples now and in the past. 

  • Indigenous students who attend non-tribal, public schools experience higher dropout rates that are closely linked to cultural conflict between them and non-Indigenous students: “Research has routinely shown that Indigenous cultural values often directly conflict with European American values such as competition, focusing on the individual rather than the community, and putting oneself forward.”(5)

  • Higher dropout rates lead to higher rates of unemployment and lower incomes in Native communities.(6)

  • The Indian Health Service is severely underfunded, spending only $1914 per patient per year. (7)


Acknowledgement and Accountability 

Acknowledgement is the first step in amending the grievances experienced by Native Americans, but it is not enough. We must ensure we are actively working to keep Indigenous lives and spaces safe and seen while correcting the narrative that Native Americans are uncivil, not advanced, and not knowledgeable. Following acknowledgment comes decolonization and reconciliation, which can take place at an individual and an institutional level. If you are of settler ancestry, there are many ways you can contribute to decolonization and support the Indigenous people around you. Advocating for Indigenous representation in local and state government, donating to organizations benefiting Native groups, and participating in direct mutual aid/crowdsourcing are a start. More direct ways to reconcile include giving land back to Indigenous peoples. The Land Back Movement encourages people of settler descent to discover and connect with those who originally inhabited the land they live on or “own” and eventually form a consensual relationship that can lead to returning the land to Indigenous people or tribes of the area. This is all in respect and consideration of Indigenous people’s desires and visions. 

 Direct Action and Government Demands 

We vocalize our support of regional indigenous groups and their demands for accurate discussions and education of native history and the impact of United States’ genocide and warfare against Indigenous peoples. We also support them in any legal action taken against municipal, state, or national governments. This statement recognizes the fluid nature of collective organizing and will be updated as is required. 

The above text was researched, compiled, and written by Brooklin Grantz, the first recipient of the houseguest paid learning internship.

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c o m m u n i t y r e s o u r c e s 

(1) “Indigenous Lands Acknowledgment,” Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 2020, https://kftc.org/indigenous-lands-acknowledgment.

(2) A. Gwynn Henderson and David Pollack , “Native America: A State-by-State Historical Encyclopedia,” A Native History of Kentucky (Daniel S. Murphree, 2012), https://heritage.ky.gov/Documents/Native_History_KyTeachers.pdf
(3) “Indigenous Lands Acknowledgment,” Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, 2020, https://kftc.org/indigenous-lands-acknowledgment.
(4) Terry Deary and Martin Brown, Oxford (London: Scholastic, 2017).
(5) Devan M Crawford, Jacob E Cheadle, and Les B Whitbeck, “Tribal vs. Public Schools: Perceived Discrimination and School Adjustment among Indigenous Children from Early to Mid-Adolescence,” Journal of American Indian Education 49, no. 1-2 (2010): pp. 86-106.
(6) Devan M Crawford, Jacob E Cheadle, and Les B Whitbeck, “Tribal vs. Public Schools: Perceived Discrimination and School Adjustment among Indigenous Children from Early to Mid-Adolescence,” Journal of American Indian Education 49, no. 1-2 (2010): pp. 86-106.
(7) Michelle Sarche and Paul Spicer, “Poverty and Health Disparities for American Indian and Alaska Native Children,” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 1136, no. 1 (2008): pp. 126-136, https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1425.017.