Basic References

Glossary from Racial Equity Tools

The Racial Equity Tools glossary aims to enhance the quality of discourse on race through finding a higher level of shared understanding on important, common terms. It includes primary sources for definitions, though some are paraphrased or updated.

Glossary of LGBTQ Terms

This glossary from Out & Equal defines terms pertinent to conservations about LGBTQ+ identities and struggles.

Vocabulary for conversations about race, gender, equality, and inclusivity

This list of definitions from the UArizona College of Science includes terms used in conversations about race, gender, equality, and inclusivity. It also links to resources related to those terms.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Terms and Definitions

This glossary from the Office of Inclusivity and Diversity (OID) at Hollins University offers a long list of terms with definitions.

“Should we say Black? African American? People of color?”

This resource is a post on Instagram by Marie Beecham (@MarieBeech).

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Community Remembrance Project: History of Racial Injustice in the United States

*Content Warning: This webpage contains information and graphic (visual) depictions of enslavement.

This resource from the Equal Justice Initiative contextualizes contemporary racial injustice in the United States by reviewing the violent histories of enslavement, reconstruction, racial terror lynching, segregation, and presumption of guilt.

Police Brutality 101

*Content Warning: This document contains information about police violence. 

This resource from Communities United Against Police Brutality provides information about police brutality, why police brutality exists, and how people can combat police brutality.

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Anti-racist glossaries circulate widely in response to events of hyper-visible injustice, like racial injustice and police brutality. Without directly seeking them out, these can come to you through your email and social media in resources intended for support of those affected or education. More actively, you can seek these resources out through local groups organizing against injustice, which often have social media accounts and websites where they share resources like these. Search for phrases such as "reading list," "anti-racism," "racial justice," "resources for education," "resources for healing," "political education," or the terminology being used by organizers in response to the event, such as hashtags. 

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AIR DEIJ Guidebook Common Anti-Racist Reading List

The AIR DEIJ reading list includes literature commonly recommended in beginning anti-racist learning. The respective links are to fully downloadable copies of the book. However, if you have the means to purchase these materials, it is highly encouraged that you do so to support the authors and signal value for their knowledges.

Anti-Racism Reading List 

This resource from Changing Womxn Collective is a curated list of resources, actionables, links, and literature. The Anti-Racism Reading List starts on page 9.

Anti-racism resources for white people 

This compilation of resources from Sarah Sophie Flicker and Alyssa Klein lists books, articles, podcasts, videos, TV series, and films and is “intended to serve as a resource to white people and parents to deepen our anti-racism work.”

Anti-Racism Resource List: Books to read

This resource guide includes common questions and definitions and books to read as a good starting point to remove your fears and educate yourself on being anti-racist.

"Where Do I Begin?" Daily Reading Plan 

This resource is “a 28-day reading plan for white and non-black people of color aspiring allies."

“Books about Black joy to read now”

This post on Instagram is from by Unbothered (@r29unbothered). This is their description of the post: “There are plenty of novels that delve into the effects of systemic and historic racism on peoples lives, which are important for us to read and learn from - but it’s also imperative to read stories that uplift Black people and show us winning.”

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#BlackLivesMatter: A Bibliography for the Revolution

*Content Warning: This document contains information about police violence. 

This bibliography from Black Lives Matter Nashville, a local chapter of the Black Lives Matter Network, offers a "rolling bibliography of books that have been helpful for us while we conceptualize and navigate this movement."

"A reading list to understand police brutality in America"

*Content Warning: This document contains information about police violence. 

This article is written by Constance Grady for Vox.

A Radical Library

This library includes books, podcasts, articles, and audiobooks related to abolition, anti-fascism, protesting, mutual aid, and transformative justice. It also links other similar reading lists.

If You’re New to Abolition: Study Group Guide 

This group study guide comes from AbolitionJournal. They offer the following description for this resource: “You may be new to abolition as a movement or concept. While definitions range widely, the essence of abolitionism is the construction of a society without imprisonment and policing. It is about dismantling institutions and systems like prisons, jails, detention centers, psychiatric institutions, policing, immigration restriction, state surveillance, and many others.

However, it is also about building. Prison abolitionists follow those dreamers and warriors who imagined an end to the slave economy and settler colonialism on which the US was founded. We imagine what would be required for a society without prisons, and propose different means to support collective thriving and more effective ways to address harms.”

How to use the guide: “What follows is a suggested design for a six-week study group. Each week is organized by theme; we recommend doing the readings/viewings/listening in the order listed. We have included materials that you can read and watch in under 5 hours each week. We hope that you will do what you can, but really, we hope that you’ll eventually study more than what we list here–because we know that radical study, often named “political education,” is one key to movement-building, and only we can do it for ourselves. Abolition is, in addition to being about dismantling and building, also about transforming things. And perhaps first and foremost, it is about transforming ourselves in concert with others. Sometimes this happens when we study together!”

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Within this panel are resources that circulate during Heritage Months, which are celebrations of different social identities often coupled with education and calls to action. This section will be updated as we move through different Heritage Months and we learn of more resources.

Black History Month (February)

Black History Month Library

This Google folder is a collection of works by Black authors. In each author’s folder, you will find a PDF copy of their books. A few other folders are organized by subject. Again, these digital copies are to enhance accessibility. If you can purchase these works, please do. This supports these authors and signals value for their knowledges.

Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May)

Background on AAPI Heritage Month

The Library of Congress describes the history of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

AIR DEIJ AAPI Resources

In Spring 2021, the AIR DEIJ Committee collected reading and resources related to the movement to stop hate crimes against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community members following hate crimes during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"18 fiction books to read for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month"

This article recommending fiction reads is by Lakshmi Gandhi for NBC News.

"12 nonfiction books to read for Asian Pacific American Heritage Month"

This article recommending nonfiction reads is by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang for NBC News.

"25 Books by Asian-American and Pacific Islander Writers to Read Right Now: A Reading List For Asian-American And Pacific Islander Month... and All Months"

This list of recommended reads through and beyond AAPI Heritage Month is by Katie Yee for Book Marks

"The History of Anti-Asian-American Violence"

This article contextualizing contemporary violence in histories violence is by Isaac Chotiner for The New Yorker.

Pride Month (June)

Resources forthcoming...

Latinx Heritage Month (mid-September to mid-October)

Latinx Heritage Month Reading List

This list of recommendations with "something for every type of reader" was prepared by Manuel Aragon for Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

Native American Heritage Month (November)

"Decolonising Science Reading List: It’s The End of Science As You Know It"

This list of resources for learning about the relationship between colonialism and Western science was prepared by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein.

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Intersectional Environmentalist Resource Hub

Intersectional Environmentalist describes their Resource Hub: "Discover the many ways social justice and environmentalism intersect with the topics and communities you are most passionate about, and spend some time looking through others that you’re keen to learn more on."

Intersectional Environmentalism resource book

This book offers an introduction and invitation to learn about the connection between injustices experienced by communities and the earth at an introductory level.

La Justicia Ambiental es Para Tu y Mi/Environmental Justice Is For You and Me

This is a bilingual environmental justice children’s book written by Catalina de Onís, Hilda Lloréns, Mabette Colón Pérez, and Khalil G. García Lloréns.

Environmental Justice Toolkits 

The Environmental Justice Toolkit from American University offers a structured introduction to environmental justice with many resources. 

The Environmental Justice Toolkit by the University of Connecticut Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America guides you through the concept of environmental justice with support from multiple resources. 

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Reading lists circulate widely in response to events of hyper-visible injustice, like racial injustice and police brutality. Without directly seeking them out, these can come to you through your email and social media in resources intended for education or support of those affected. More actively, you can seek these resources out through local groups organizing against injustice, which often have social media accounts and websites where they share resources like these. Search for phrases such as "reading list," "anti-racism," "racial justice," "resources for education," "resources for healing," "political education," or the terminology being used by organizers in response to the event, such as hashtags. 

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Faculty 2019-2020 Demographics and 9-Year Equity Gap Analysis Between Faculty and Students

This report is from the UArizona Office of the Provost, Assessment, and Research Team, Faculty Affairs, and Hispanic Serving Institution Team. They offer the following description of the report: “This report describes faculty composition trends from 2019-2020 and includes a nine-year equity gap representation analysis for sex (male/female) and race/ethnicity. The purpose of this report is to understand the current demographics of faculty by identified equity features within higher education. In addition, we hope that this report will be used to inform and guide future hiring practices to increase diverse representation among faculty.”

Workforce Demographics

This webpage from University Analytics and Institutional Research details the workforce dynamics of University of Arizona faculty and staff. The highlights include Employee Headcount, Percentage by Inclusive Race/Ethnicity, Percentage by Full-Time/Part-Time Status, Percentage by Sex, Headcount by Employee Classification, Percentage by Employee Classification and Full-Time/Part-Time Status, Percentage by Employee Classification and Sex, and Percentage by Employee Classification and Inclusive Race/Ethnicity. The user can switch between highlights and trends view.

Faculty and Staff Overview

This webpage from University Analytics and Institutional Research holds links to view information on University of Arizona Workforce Demographics, Faculty Demographics, and Faculty Tenure. The user can switch between highlights and trends view.

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Recruitment Resources from UArizona Human Resources

Recruitment

The recruitment resources from UArizona Human Resources aim to support fair and consistent hiring practices, source and grow talent, and foster diversity and inclusion across campus.

Recruitment Guidelines and Policies: Guide to Successful Searches

This guide includes UArizona guidance for job search committees. For information on incorporating DEIJ language in job postings, take a look at the following sections within the guide: “A Few Words About Equal Employment Opportunity, Affirmative Action and Diversity” and “Diversity Commitments."

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Inclusive Excellence

Transforming The University Of Arizona Into An Inclusive Excellence University For The 21st Century: A Guidebook for Implementing and Practicing Inclusive Excellence

This guide is from the UArizona Office for Diversity and Inclusive Excellence was written by Jesús Treviño, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Senior Diversity Officer and Laura Hunter, Ph.D., Associate Diversity Officer and Coordinator of Faculty Development. It is a step-by-step “how to” approach to implementing and practicing Inclusive Excellence.

Example of Application: Inclusive Excellence Committee Progress Reports, Committee on Inclusion and Equity’s (CIE), Diversity and Inclusion Plan

These reports from the UArizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health is an example of an application of implementing inclusive excellence. They provided the following description about their reports: “We strive to foster an educational community that values innovation and excellence in teaching, creation and dissemination of knowledge, practice-based research and research-based practice to address the health needs and interests of individuals and communities. During the 2016/2017 academic year, the CIE developed a strategic plan to increase Inclusive Excellence (IE) throughout the college in the areas of structure, governance & leadership, instruction & classroom content, faculty and staff awareness and training, and environment & climate.”

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College of Science

View their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement.

Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory

View their Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

View their Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Statement.

Department of Geosciences

The Department of Geosciences has several resources for its students and faculty. The Department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee released a statement in June 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the associated heightened organizing for Black lives. Additionally, the Department's Summer 2020 newsletter includes a statement on their commitment to diversity, justice, and anti-racism on page 6. The Department of Geosciences' Code of Conduct details how they plan to create a diverse, positive, inspiring, and safe environment for all members of the Department. Finally, the Department has also collected resources, including readings, articles, and links, regarding diversity in Geosciences.

Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences

View their Diversity & Inclusion Statement.

Department of Psychology

The Department's Diversity in Psychology webpage includes a statement on their commitment to diversity as well as information about their Diversity Committee, courses, newsletter, events, research, resources, and book review program.

Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

View their Black Lives Matter statement.

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Office of Diversity and Inclusion 

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion offers a few resources on its website. Their resource, "Resources on Diversity and Inclusiveness in the Classroom," is a guide for addressing difficult or challenging topics in the classroom, including how to shape interactions, facilitate classroom discussions, engage in dialogue rather than debate, recognize and interrupt microaggressions, and validate students of color.

Cultural Heritage and Student Resource Centers

This section lists the Centers and links to each of their websites. The 2021-2022 Cultural and Resource Center Guide reviews the Centers and provides students' reflections on their support.

African American Student Affairs (AASA)

The mission of African American Student Affairs is to facilitate a support system that helps students achieve academic excellence and an enriching African American cultural experience at UA.

Adalberto & Ana Guerrero Student Center (GSC)

The Adalberto & Ana Guerrero Student Center aims to create a safe and inclusive environment through culturally affirming programs and events that cultivate a sense of belonging, build community, encourage critical reflection, and develop students as learners, leaders, professionals, and engaged citizens.

Disability Cultural Center (DCC)

The Disability Cultural Center is a space for students, faculty and staff to explore and celebrate disability identity, culture and community. DCC offers a variety of events and programming that promote an authentic and intersectional perspective on disability. 

Disability Resource Center (DRC)

The Disability Resource Center at the University of Arizona leads the University in a progressive and proactive approach to campus accessibility. Their goal is to ensure that disabled students, employees, and visitors have a similar, if not identical, experience to that of their non-disabled counterparts. In addition to facilitating individual accommodations, DRC works proactively to impact the systemic design of our campus environments to be seamlessly accessible, reducing or eliminating the need for individual accommodations or modifications.

Immigrant Student Resource Center (ISRC)

The Immigrant Student Resource Center helps recruit and retain students at the University of Arizona from immigrant & refugee backgrounds. They provide academic, career, scholarship, & social support to currently enrolled students, including students with Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) work permits, undocumented students, students with mixed-immigration status families, and students from refugee backgrounds. They also train university staff, faculty, and administrators to work more effectively with students from immigrant and refugee backgrounds.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) Affairs

The Office of LGBTQ Affairs creates a safe space for thousands of students every year at UArizona through programs, training, event, and the LGBTQ Resource Center in the Student Union.

Native American Student Affairs (NASA)

The mission of Native American Student Affairs is to provide culturally sensitive academic counseling and support services to American Indian/Alaskan Native students enabling them to achieve academic excellence.

Women and Gender Resource Center (WGRC)

The Women and Gender Resource Center is an inclusive on-campus student center which strives to create change on campus in response to sexism and misogyny, doing social justice work at the intersection of many identities such as sex, gender identity, gender expression, race, class, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and ability. 

They are a community of diversely feminist, social-justice oriented individuals. They work to enrich our communities through educational programming founded in a social justice and diversity framework and by nurturing holistic individual growth through activism, events, post-classroom learning, and consciousness-raising engagement.

Veterans Education and Transition Services (VETS) Center 

The Veterans Education and Transition Services Center strives to provide the tools and assistance necessary for students to achieve academic success while fostering camaraderie and engagement.

VETS Center is an organization run by veterans, spouses, dependents and current service members who through their shared experiences endeavor to maintain a dynamic and effective program which is responsive to the needs of our community. 

The University Religious Council (URC)

The University Religious Council is a collection of the ministers/directors of the religious/spiritual/cultural groups at the University of Arizona. This organization has been in existence since 1948, helping to provide spiritual support and growth to students. The URC has its own constitution, policies, meetings, and annual dues.

The goal of the URC is to promote spiritual benefits for students, faculty, and staff at the UA. To that end, membership is based on adherence to accepted norms of behavior towards students, faculty, and staff, as outlined in the URC Bylaws, and not on theological or faith affiliation.

Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

The College's webpage on Diversity and Inclusion highlights students and faculty, details their plan, and lists values and resources.  

Department of Environmental Science

The Department's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource Guide lists UArizona resources for students, faculty, and staff. They also curated "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Starting Points for Labs," which is a collection of research resources. In addition to these resource lists, in the summer of 2020, the Department of Environmental Science compiled Anti-Racism Starter Resources for pursuing equity and inclusion in all aspects of academic life and research. 

The Department started an Anti-Racism Reading Group, and has collected many resources through it. This includes a collection of general resources for the Reading Group and a compilation of resources to introduce to concepts of anti-racism and white privilege.

Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center

The Center's webpage on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion indicates their solidarity with Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color in their fight for freedom, liberation, and justice.

Crossroads Collaborative: Youth, Sexuality, Health, And Rights

The Crossroads Collaborative includes University of Arizona (UA) faculty, a postdoctoral research associate, graduate students, and youth-oriented community partners including, Eon/Wingspan, the Gay-Straight Alliance Network, Kore Press Grrls Literary Activism, Tucson Youth Poetry Slam, and YWCA Tucson. The collaborative is dedicated to advancing research, graduate training, public conversation, and ultimately social change in the area of youth, sexuality, health, and rights (YSHR). The Crossroads Collaborative aims to lead and engage others in an informed and productive dialogue around YSHR.

Women in STEM Student Council (WiSSC)

The Women in STEM Student Council is a student-directed council that: 

1. supports the recruitment, retention, and graduation of women-identifying students pursuing STEM degrees at the University of Arizona. 
2. serves as a network for the many existing “Women in STEM” student groups and STEM departments and develops university-wide coordinated programs.
3. works with university administration to set priorities, identify areas of need, and inform policy to foster a diverse and inclusive STEM environment at UA.

Women in Physics

University of Arizona Women in Physics is built by students with the goal of inclusion in mind. They are supported by the Department of Physics and are among the leaders of the Women in STEM Student Council at Arizona.

Department of Planetary Sciences/Lunar and Planetary Laboratory (LPL)

The Department details their committment to creating a working environment that is safe, welcoming, and inclusive for all on their Department Life page. Their website also hosts a list of Resources on Equity Issues with tests, readings, and definitions as well as groups, committees, professional organizations, and blogs. Additionally, Women at LPL provides a platform to socialize, network, discuss challenges encountered in careers in planetary science as well as equity issues and share information on opportunities and events focused on women in science.

Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences

The Department created their Equity and Inclusion Committee in 2017 to facilitate the Department’s efforts to increase equity and inclusion across all levels of their program in all of their activities. The Department has restructured policies and procedures to enable broad participation and lists examples of this work on their webpage, Departmental Policies/Actions Supporting Equity & Inclusion along with Student Groups & Resources. Finally, the Preparing Researchers in Early Intervention for Children with Disabilities from Multicultural Environments (PRIDE) Program is a training grant from the US Office of Special Education Programs for doctoral students who are interested in working with children from multi-cultural backgrounds.

College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture

The College tracks their progress on measures to advance equity, diversity and inclusion. They also developed an antiracism bibliography, making it and the listed texts available to the CAPLA community and using them to inform discussions to create a shared understanding of racism and other kinds of discrimination. 

Arizona's Science, Engineering, and Math Scholars (ASEMS) 

Arizona's Science, Engineering, and Math Scholars supports students in graduating with a STEM major. ASEMS focuses on promising students who are underrepresented in STEM, especially students who are first in their family to attend college, from low-income households, who transferred from a community college, and from underrepresented groups, such as women and minorities.

ASEMS also coordinates Colors of STEM, which is a group created specifically for undergraduate and graduate students of color* pursuing STEM-related degrees. Their hope is to offer a safe sense of place, community, and sounding board for these students, supporting faculty and staff. We cover both professional and personal development topics. 

*Folx who identify as: Black, African-American, African, Latina/o/x, Hispanic, Native American, American Indian, Indigenous, Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian, Asian/Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern, or multi-racial of the aforementioned.

UArizona Heritage Month Celebrations

To recognize and celebrate our distinct cultures, a dedicated team of students, faculty, staff, campus cultural groups and alumni collaborated to create the first official University of Arizona Cultural Logos.

For Black History Month (February), the sale of Black History Month logo items through UArizona BookStores supported students through African American Student Affairs (AASA). In celebration of Black History Month, UArizona Athletics featured stories of Black athletes and coaches.

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College of Architecture, Planning, and Landscape Architecture (CAPLA) Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee

The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Committee at the College of Architecture, Planning and Landscape Architecture is comprised of faculty, staff and students whose goal is to help CAPLA meet its core value of being a leader in inclusive excellence.

College of Science Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee

Visit this Committee's website. Their subcommittees include a Diversity & Inclusion Re-Entry Committee, a Staff Success Subcommittee, a Faculty Success Subcommittee, and a Student Success Subcommittee. 

College of Humanities Committee for Diversity & Inclusion

The College of Humanities Committee for Diversity & Inclusion is charged with sending recommendations for implementing and practicing inclusive excellence across the board in the College. 

Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health Committee on Inclusion and Equity (CIE) 

Visit this committee's website.

College of Education Diversity Committee

The College of Education Diversity Committee makes recommendations to Dean Bruce Johnson regarding diversity in the college. The committee also is responsible for reviewing the college’s Diversity Action Plan annually to ensure the college is continuing its effort to implement its recommendations. 

College of Fine Arts Committee for Diversity & Inclusion 

The College of Fine Arts Committee for Diversity & Inclusion is charged with making recommendations to the Dean for implementing best practices for inclusive excellence within the classroom and in all areas of the college.

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee

Visit this committee's website.

College of Medicine – Tucson Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At the College of Medicine-Tucson, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion holds a pivotal role in creating a climate where diversity is recognized as a primary ingredient in the mastery of innovation and excellence in patient care. (Note than rather than a committee, this office is an institution within the College.)

Faculty Governance Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This Committee on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion considers issues and forwards action items to Faculty Senate that relate to diversity, equity, or inclusion (e.g., policies that foster an environment of civility and mutual respect, issues affecting diversity from an overall university perspective, external requirements on the university affecting diversity, administration of university affirmative action grants and awards, etc.).

Department of Mathematics Ad Hoc Committee on Climate, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This committee will provide ideas and advice about actions we can take now to improve our work environment, as well as about how to best structure our efforts in the longer term.

Department of Environmental Science Inclusive Excellence Committee

This departmental committee, comprised of faculty, seeks to put our Commitment to Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion into action. They work on issues including (but not limited to) the following themes that were discussed in our summer 2020 inter dialogue group conversations facilitated by Initiatives for Organizational Inclusion. These are meant to be starting points in a living document.

• Micro- and Macroaggressions
• Hiring Practices
• Graduation School Admissions
• Accountability & Accountability Systems
• Tenure Practices

The committee is working on creating an action plan and timeline.

Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences Equity and Inclusion Committee

This Equity and Inclusion Committee was created in 2017 to facilitate the Department’s efforts to increase equity and inclusion across all levels of our program (e.g., pospective students, undergraduates, graduates, faculty, staff) in all of our activities (e.g., teaching, hiring, admissions, research, policy). 

Department of Geosciences Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee

This committee does not yet have a website, but they have written about their efforts in Important Reflections on Current Events, Racial Challenges in Geosciences and Future Opportunities and in their statement on their commitment to diversity, justice, and anti-racism.

Department of Psychology Diversity Committee

This Department’s newly-formed Diversity Committee will ensure that issues of diversity are addressed in all aspects of Department functioning. These efforts include identifying information and resources to facilitate our students’ and colleagues’ success, supporting and promoting department efforts to be a leader in diversity scholarship, and advocating for the valuing of diversity in curricula, graduate student recruitment, and faculty recruitment. 

College of Medicine Student Diversity Advisory Committee (SDAC)

The Student Diversity Advisory Committee (SDAC) (1) is committed to the ongoing support of marginalized and minority students at the COM - Tucson; (2) advocates for diverse patient populations; (3) provides insight and recommendations to administration and staff to improve its support for a unique student cohort - continuing in UACOM’s mission to “advance health and wellness”; (4) promotes hiring and promotion of diverse faculty and staff; (5) establishes structured mentoring for marginalized, minority, or first generation students. 

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1. Land acknowledgements are currently a commonplace practice across the world to open events and gatherings. 
2. Defined by Felicia Garcia (2018), a land acknowledgement is a formal statement recognizing the Indigenous peoples “who have been dispossessed from the homelands and territories upon which an institution was built and currently occupies and operates in.” 
3. Land acknowledgements are a responsibility but they are the bare minimum. A land acknowledgement is only the beginning. 
4. For an organization to give a land acknowledgement signals a commitment to recognizing their role or complicity in settler colonialism, to build and sustain relationships with Indigenous people and nations, and to support Indigenous staff, community members, and community partner organizations. 
5. When developing a land acknowledgement, we need to ask what intentions we have to disrupt and dismantle settler colonialism beyond acknowledgement. We have responsibilities to do more and we will be held accountable by Indigenous staff and students, community members, and community partner organizations as well as others engaged in this work in Tucson. 
6. Many people and organizations italicize land acknowledgments when presented digitally. However, italicized text can be more difficult for folks to read, so avoid italicizing text. Learn more.

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Identifying Whose Land You’re On

Native Land Map

With Native Land Map, a web-based map, you can insert an address to learn whose land you are on. There is also additional information about languages and treaties of the location you identify. This is also an app you can download on your phone.

Whose Land

Whose Land, a web-based app, is focused on present-day Canada and also helps users geographically identify Indigenous nations and territories. The website includes other resources, such as videos reflecting on the importance of land acknowledgements and Indigenous relationships to land.

Tucson, Arizona

In Tucson, we are on the traditional territories of the Tohono O'odham and Pascua Yaqui peoples. Today they are recognized as the Tohono O’odham Nation and the Pascua Yaqui Nation.

Guides for Writing Land Acknowledgments

Guide to Indigenous Land and Territorial Acknowledgements for Cultural Institutions

This guide created by Felicia Garcia offers definitions, context, suggestions, and resources for institutions such as museums, archives, libraries, and universities developing land acknowledgments.

Honor Native Land Guide: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement

This guide from the U.S. Department of Arts and Culture "offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.” Additional resources are available on their website.

Know The Land Territories Campaign

This campaign from the Laurier Students' Public Interest Research Group includes resources on how to compose land acknowledgments and move beyond them, with a few examples.

Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement

This guide from the Native Governance Center details how to prepare land acknowledgments and move beyond them.

Land Acknowledgements

Oregon State University's webpage on Land Acknowledgements includes resources for preparing land acknowledgments and moving beyond them.

Land Acknowledgment Reflections and Critiques

The magazine article “Land Acknowledgements And How We Relate To The Trails We Run" written by Dr. Lydia Jennings (UArizona PhD graduate) in Trail Runner Magazine shares insights on the practice of giving land acknowledgments.

In the radio segment “'I regret it': Hayden King on writing Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement” on CBC Radio, Hayden King reflects on the limitations of land acknowledgements and the not-so-promising characteristics of their use today. 

In the episode "Acknowledge This!" of the podcast Indigenous Action, the hosts "talk with some long-time Indigenous Action co-conspirators about their thoughts on 'land acknowledgements.'"

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University of Arizona

On July 6, 2021, President Robbins announced an updated Land Acknowledgement for the university. The President shared that over the previous several months, the University’s Office of Native American Advancement & Tribal Engagement consulted with the Tohono O’odham and Pascua Yaqui nations about updating the university's statement, which acknowledges the land the main campus occupies. The following is the statement they curated:

We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples. Today, Arizona is home to 22 federally recognized tribes, with Tucson being home to the O’odham and the Yaqui. Committed to diversity and inclusion, the University strives to build sustainable relationships with sovereign Native Nations and Indigenous communities through education offerings, partnerships, and community service.  

You can also view the University of Arizona Land Acknowledgment online. The university requests that when using the land acknowledgement statement, it be used in its entirety only. However, if space does not permit the full statement, please link to it in this format: The University of Arizona Land Acknowledgement. 

Among the collaborators were Tohono O’odham Nation Chairman, Ned Norris, Jr.; the Tohono O’odham Nation Cultural Preservation Committee; Pascua Yaqui Nation Chairman, Peter Yucupicio; the Pascua Yaqui Tribal Council; the UArizona Native American Faculty group; UArizona Assistant Vice Provost for Native American Initiatives, Karen Francis-Begay (Navajo); and Director of the Arizona State Museum, Patrick Lyons. Learn more about the work that went into developing this statement. 

Many departments use the university's statement. However, these departments place the statement in different places on their websites, like the Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory and the Department of Environmental Science. 

In 2017, the University requested that the Tohono O'odham Student Association (TOSA) prepare a land acknowledgement for the Tribal Relations Office. While their draft was not used, it reflects on the importance of this practice for Indigenous students and the local community. 

Other departments, like the Southwest Climate Adaptation Science Center, have prepared their own, demonstrating a deeper commitment to recognizing their respective role in settler colonialism and their consequent responsibilities to Indigenous peoples and land. 

While you should not expect Indigenous people to give land acknowledgements for non-Indigenous people, when Indigenous people offer such reflections, we should pay attention and learn. The Arizona Alumni Association shared a video of Amy Spotting Wolf, Miss Indian Arizona 2020-21, and the Tohono O’odham Student Association giving a land acknowledgement.

Land Acknowledgements Elsewhere

We can also learn a lot from those who are already doing this work, like Northwestern University, Willamette University, Michigan State University, and the American Geophysical Union.

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"Land Grab" Universities

"Land-grab universities: Expropriated Indigenous land is the foundation of the land-grant university system"

The article "Land-grab Universities" by Robert Lee and Tristan Ahtone for High Country News came out in June 2020. It sent shockwaves through many college campuses. The authors take a dive into the land-grant university system, which expropriated Indigenous land for the profit of non-Indigenous academic institutions. Data associated with the article can be found on the associated Land-grab Universities Database.

The University of California (UC) Land Grab Forum

The Land Grab Forum hosted by the UC with many collaborators "examines the 150,000 acres of Indigenous land that funded the University of California, how this expropriation is intricately tied to California’s unique history of Native dispossession and genocide, and how UC continues to benefit from this wealth accumulation today." In addition, the forum explored "current university initiatives with tribes and engage in a community dialogue on actions the University of California can take to address their responsibility to California Indigenous communities." Recordings from the event can be found on YouTube.

Other Resources

"Entangled Pasts: Land-Grant Colleges and American Indian Dispossession" is a journal article that looks into the land grant university system.

Citation: Nash, M. A. (2019). Entangled Pasts: Land-Grant Colleges and American Indian Dispossession. History of Education Quarterly, 59(4), 437–467. https://doi.org/10.1017/heq.2019.31

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