Hennepin County Board adopts Native land and water acknowledgement statement

MINNEAPOLIS -- The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon voted to adopt a land and water acknowledgement statement.

"As part of our commitment to address the unresolved legacy of genocide, dispossession, and settler colonialism, Hennepin County acknowledges that the land and waterways from which our institutions benefit, are located upon the cultural, spiritual, and indigenous homeland of the Dakota people and other First People," the board action request said.

The board acknowledged that county institutions have benefited from "unfavorable treaties, military campaigns, and settler colonialism, which encouraged white newcomers to settle and colonize the First Peoples territory."

The resolution is effective as of Tuesday.