Land Acknowledgment

James Reeb UU Congregation occupies unceded ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop since time immemorial. In an 1832 treaty, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede this territory. Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin.

This history of colonization informs our shared future of collaboration and innovation.

We respect the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the eleven other First Nations of Wisconsin.

We seek to honor the history and spirit of this land and its people by contributing to causes and projects important to modern day people of the First Nations, and by avoiding the colonization of spiritual practices of people of the First Nations.

We are also figuring out how to begin the work of reparations.

[October 2023 Note: This is page and statement are works in progress.]


Reparations Work at JRUUC

Knowing that a land acknowledgement is only words, our congregation is in the process of discerning the reparations work we’ll engage in.  We hold a workshop after worship on the first Sunday of each month, in which we’re having a conversation framed by Maimonides’ five steps of repair as articulated in Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg’s book On Repentance and Repair: Making Amends in an Unapologetic World.  All are invited to be part of these conversations, whether or not you’ve participated in the past.  You can click on these links to find notes from past sessions and the slide show we’re using for the conversations.


October 2023 Land Acknowledgment Workshop with Rev. Kerri Parker:

October 15, 2023 Service – Rev. Kerri Parker’s sermon: Reconciliation, Restorative Action, and Right Relationship


For Further Exploration

For more information about our shared history and the importance of land acknowledgement check out these resources:

Land Acknowledgment

About Land Acknowledgment – Native Governance Center

Beyond Land Acknowledgment: A Guide – Native Governance Center

Wisconsin Faith Voices – Land Acknowledgement Resources

Local and State History and Culture

Wisconsin First Nations Map

Local History article from Madison365/Channel3000 (2015)

Harry Whitehorse Bio

American Indians in Wisconsin: History (From Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services)

UW-Madison Land Acknowledgement Plaque (2019)

“This Land is Their Land” 2019 article from Isthmus 

A History of Madison – Morgridge Center for Public Service – .pdf

Native American Mounds in Dane County – WisconsinFirstNations.org – .pdf

PBS Wisconsin – Ho-Chunk History Documentary