A message regarding Indigenous Peoples’ Day

October 11, 2021

The following message is being sent on behalf of the Office of Inclusion and Institutional Equity:

Dear TU students, faculty and staff,  

In 1977, the United Nations held the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas in Geneva, Switzerland. This was the first U.N. conference with Indigenous delegates and the first time that Native peoples were invited to participate. A resolution proposed by a delegation of Native nations was passed to recognize “International Day of Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.”

Today, more than eight states and 100 cities, towns and counties across the country have officially recognized Indigenous Peoples’ Day. Baltimore City will recognize it as a legal holiday for the first time this year. We ask that our entire TU community join us in recognizing the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples’ Day. 

In TU’s inaugural Diversity Strategic Plan released last year, we stated that part of our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion involves acknowledging that this work “has its roots in a past rich with complex stories of success, pain, accomplishment, struggle and, ultimately, hope that TU will continue to move forward with a reconciled and more inclusive history.” The goal is to tell a more complete, complex and reconciled history of the land and native peoples of our region and state. 

At least eight known nations or groups of American Indians are native to Maryland including the Susquehannock and the Nentego (Nanticoke). Today, the Maryland Commission on Indian Affairs serves the following Maryland Indigenous communities: 

  • Accohannock Indian Tribe 
  • Assateague People of Delmarva
  • Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians 
  • Piscataway Conoy Tribe 
  • Piscataway Indian Nation 
  • Pocomoke Indian Nation 
  • Youghiogheny River Band of Shawnee Indians 

What we owe the Indigenous people in our state and nation is far more substantive and long-lasting than a mere day of acknowledgment or celebration. We hope that this day of recognition is the next step in many, many more to come. 

The Office of Inclusion & Institutional Equity will continue to provide resources and opportunities for our entire TU community to reflect, converse and identify meaningful ways to recognize Indigenous Peoples’ Day, acknowledge the land now occupied by Towson University and continue this work throughout the year. 

Sincerely,

Patricia Bradley, J.D. 
Interim Vice President for Inclusion & Institutional Equity