Land Acknowledgement Statement

Adopted April 2022

 

We, the people of Vine Congregational United Church of Christ, acknowledge that our place of worship, founded by faith, was built upon and occupies a portion of the past, present, and future homeland of the Indigenous Jiwere Oto-Missouria people.

 

We acknowledge the history contained within the soil and footprints of this land we are sat upon.

 

We honor the spirits of the Jiwere Oto-Missouria peoples and the spirits of all indigenous peoples who, over centuries, have had presence upon this land.

 

We celebrate the beauty of the Otoe Chiwere language and the labors of farming and buffalo hunting.

 

We acknowledge the trauma experienced by the Jiwere Oto-Missouria people due to the brutal displacement, violence, assault, deprivation, death, theft of land, and disease brought upon the Jiwere Oto-Missouria people by European settlers.

 

We proclaim our intent to continue with acts of healing through our commitment to hear stories of this place and those who have lived here for generations, to learn about Indigenous history, current stories, and public policies that impact Indigenous people, and to take appropriate action to begin repairing the injustices done to Indigenous people.

 

We commit to be stewards of the land Vine Congregational United Church of Christ occupies by nurturing the regrowth of native flora and maintaining upkeep of the church building in intentional, thoughtful, sustainable ways.

 

We acknowledge Native peoples of many nations live within the neighborhood surrounding Vine Congregational United Church of Christ as well as the greater city of Lincoln.  We celebrate the presence of Native peoples and honor and respect the blessed unique gifts and great contributions they bring to the community’s vitality and diversity.

 

We seek to live, worship, and fellowship in harmony and shared belief that the earth and everything on it belongs to the Creator.