Story reposted from UConn Today
The agreement, the first of its kind on the East Coast, was made possible with support from Native American and Indigenous Studies professor and area director Sandy Grande.
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UConn and the five recognized American Indian Tribes within current State boundaries are launching a historic partnership, envisioning wide-ranging collaborations in academic and research pursuits, economic development, community service, and cultural enrichment.
Such a comprehensive agreement is the first of its kind on the East Coast between Tribal Nations and a university. It is especially significant given UConn’s status as one of the federal Morrill Act land grant institutions, which profited from land obtained from Indigenous peoples through generations of broken treaties, forced removal, and brutal warfare.
The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was met with applause, embraces, and more than a few tears of happiness when it was presented recently to UConn’s Board of Trustees by citizens and representatives of the Eastern Pequot, Golden Hill Paugussett, Mashantucket Pequot, Mohegan, and Schaghticoke Tribal Nations.
“Like all land-grant institutions, UConn carries a complex history: a history of impact and achievement that rests on the displacement of Indigenous communities from the very land that sustains us,” Provost Anne D’Alleva told trustees.
“Acknowledging this history is vital as we work to fulfill our values as an institution and build meaningful, mutually beneficial relationships with our Tribal Nations, who have called this region home for generations,” she added.
It also marks a watershed moment for UConn as it seeks to position UConn Avery Point as a Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institution (NASNTI), a federal designation earned when at least 10% of the undergraduate population of a campus identifies as Native American and/or Alaska Native.
That would make UConn only the fourth institution east of the Mississippi River to have a campus with NASNTI designation and among land grant and R1 (high research activity) universities.
UConn has worked in recent years to support the development of services and programs for Native American and Indigenous students and employees. It has also established a fruitful partnership with the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on the development of the tribe’s hydroponic Meechooôk Farm; research into responsible gaming; and various academic and cultural endeavors with the other Tribal Nations.
Those initiatives set the foundation for many more that are envisioned through the MOA, which also sets up a Tribal/University Advisory Board and commits to formal consultation between UConn and the five signatory tribes on a range of academic, cultural, community, and operational priorities.
Connecticut, whose name is derived from the Algonquin word Quinnehtukqut – meaning roughly, “beside the long tidal river” — will benefit for generations to come from the expertise and commitment that the tribes and University will bring to bear, officials said.
“Connecticut: It’s a word of our founding language. How appropriate that the flagship university that bears this name will be the first college that respectfully involves Tribal Nations here, today and beyond, to teach and learn about ourselves on our own land, including our language, history, politics, arts, and sciences,” Elizabeth “Beth” Regan, chairwoman of the Mohegan Tribe Council of Elders, said at the trustees meeting.
“At the same time, we will bring our Indigenous knowledge of the ancient stories and ways of this land, as well as the Native perspective on Connecticut in an informed way from its first peoples,” she said.
The MOA also includes strategies to increase recruitment, enrollment, and retention of Native American and Indigenous students throughout UConn and especially at Avery Point.
