Posted on February 20, 2022

University of Texas at Arlington Acknowledges It Was Built on Land Owned by Native Americans

Brad Dress, The Hill, February 17, 2022

The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has for the first time acknowledged the school was built on land that once belonged to Native Americans.

In a press release, UTA officials said an 11-member task forced researched the land and concluded the campus sits on Indigenous lands once owned by the Wichita and affiliated tribes {snip}

“Their ancestors resided here for generations before being forcibly displaced by U.S. settlers and soldiers in the mid-1800s,” the Feb. 10 press release said.

Les Riding-In, a task force member and the assistant dean in the College of Liberal Arts, said the acknowledgement was a “call to action” in a statement.

“We aim to continue to embark on more related efforts, including adopting a Native American oversight council, transforming an area on campus for individual and institutional reflection and a Native American student scholarship endowed with a gift,” Riding-In said.

{snip}