The “Our Shared Future” heritage marker represents the significance of the Ho-Chunk land and the government’s past efforts to remove Wisconsin’s indigenous population.
Yet, various Native American student groups on campus feel this is only a first step to a much larger issue.
UW-Madison implemented the “Our Shared Future” historical marker in fall 2019 to give recognition to the Ho-Chunk land the campus was built on. The plaque moves to various locations on campus, seven departments and colleges plan to host the marker this spring.
The heritage marker will be integrated into messages from visiting speakers, organized events and campus tours.
Student Native American organizations on campus, like Wunk Sheek, work to connect students of indigenous identity through cultural education and experiences.
Michael Williams, an officer for Wunk Sheek, spoke on the initiative to honor Native American culture through the “Our Shared Future” marker.
“It’s a good recognition of what’s happening, but it is a very minimal first step,” Williams said. “It’s a step in the right direction, but we shouldn’t stop because we have this plaque, we should still keep pushing to do more.”
The plaque notes how the “history of colonization informs our shared future of collaboration and innovation,” and inspired the university and indigenous peoples’ community moving forward.
Along with the “Our Shared Future” plaque, the university implemented the presentation of land acknowledgements before major gatherings, such as the Chancellor's Convocation.
“Different university groups have done [well with] land acknowledgments at events, but in terms of the university as a whole, there is no formal land acknowledgment,” Williams said. “That’s another basic first step of building relationships with native students and people on campus.”
While Williams noted how the land acknowledgements are a step towards honoring the Ho-Chunk land, there is still more to be done in terms of acknowledging the indigenous people and their history in Wisconsin.
“No plaque or monument can ever adequately convey a difficult and complicated history,” Chancellor Rebecca Blank said. “But it can start a conversation that moves us from ignorance to awareness. So today is the beginning of an intentional effort to teach our shared history.”
According to Williams, one area for potential improvement is Wunk Sheek’s annual ‘On Wisconsin Powwow’ on the UW-Madison campus to make the event, which educates and celebrates indigenous culture, more accessible to students. The event is annually held at the Alliant Energy Center due to a lack of accommodation by on-campus facilities.
“The whole point of the ‘On Wisconsin Powwow’ is to share native culture and give UW students an opportunity to engage with that — but we do not have the ability to host it on campus,” Williams said.
Williams is hopeful more students and faculty will contribute to making campus more inclusive towards all groups.
"There’s always room for more to be done where there are people who are willing and want to do this work,” Williams said. “There are always ways to make the campus more inclusive and to share more about the native community with the general campus population.”
Gina Musso is a Senior Staff Writer at The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as College News Editor and Features Editor, focusing coverage around student government, campus COVID updates and in-depth reporting. Follow her on Twitter @gina__musso.
