Utah System of Higher Education Policy R252 provides for Institutional Statements Acknowledging Relationships with Tribes and Ancestral Lands and outlines when these statements may be used.
Conditions for Sharing a Statement
USHE policy outlines the conditions a higher education institution must meet to share a land acknowledgment statement, provides the events and circumstances in which an institution may make a statement, and defines what the statement should include.
Approval Process to Offer a Statement
According to USHE’s policy, the university president must approve the offering of a land acknowledgment statement. University faculty, staff, and administrators are only authorized to make a statement when they receive this approval and use USU’s approved statement (see below).
Request to use land acknowledgment
This policy does not apply to meetings or events of recognized student clubs, like those organized under the USU Student Association. They are also welcome to create their own statements, but these statements are limited for use by student clubs only.
When a Statement May be Used
Sharing of a land acknowledgment statement either online or in person is limited to specific circumstances defined in USHE’s policy.
- At a meeting or gathering between the institution and one or more tribe(s)
- At an institutional event at which one or more members of a tribe is speaking or being honored
- At an institutional event co-sponsored by an institution and one or more tribe(s)
- At an institutional event highlighting research, service, or a curricular project completed by the institution’s students, faculty, and/or staff members related to one or more tribe(s)
- At an institutional event highlighting Native American culture, history, or art
- At an institutional conference centered on stewardship of the land
- On the institution’s website
USU’s Approved Statement
The following updated statement has been adapted from the template provided by USHE. This is the only official version that may be shared for USU-sponsored events once a request is approved by the president.
USU’s Statement Acknowledging Relationships with Utah Tribes and Ancestral Lands
At Utah State University, we acknowledge that the lands on which we work and study are the ancestral homelands and traditional territories of the eight federally recognized tribes of Utah: the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Indians, Navajo Nation, Ute Indian Tribe, Northwest Band of Shoshone, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, San Juan Southern Paiute, Skull Valley Band of Goshute, and the White Mesa Band of the Ute Mountain Ute. We appreciate and honor these lands. We respect tribal communities and the sovereign government-to-government relationship between tribes, the State of Utah, and the federal government. We affirm USU’s commitment to and partnership with these tribes and communities through the university’s Native American Scholarship, commitment to its land-grant mission of providing access to higher education for all residents of Utah, shared research and service projects, and community engagement.
Adapted from USHE template for institutional statements.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Utah Board of Higher Education directed a working group to study land acknowledgment statements as well as practices for agreements with tribes across the Utah System of Higher Education. The working group met several times and developed a proposed policy and template statement. The Commissioner’s Office sought feedback from and met with the Division of Indian Affairs and tribal leaders across the state and sought feedback from institution presidents and general counsels. Where possible, that feedback from the above groups was incorporated in the USHE policy and template statement. USHE Policy R252 was approved by the UBHE on March 27, 2025.
This policy encourages universities to strengthen its relationships and partnerships with tribes.
“Through meaningful consultation and collaboration with the relevant tribe(s), such partnerships should focus on ensuring the tribes’ members’ access to higher education; improving retention, and certificate and degree completion rates; addressing higher education affordability; and creating pathways for success from K-12 to higher education.”
If your event fits the criteria defined by USHE and you have an approval from the university president, then yes, you may share USU’s approved statement.
If your event/meeting is funded and created through USU, and it meets the criteria for sharing a statement, and you have the president’s approval, then you must use USU’s approved statement. You cannot share a different statement at a university-sponsored event. However, you are welcome and encouraged to share more information about how you are working with local tribes and supporting higher education access to tribal members as it relates to your event or meeting.
No, this policy only applies to university activities, events, and the workplace. The USHE policy states it “should not be interpreted to limit academic freedom … or abridge the rights of individuals … to take, express, or assert personal opinions and positions in their personal capacities, consistent with First Amendment principles.”
The university will make the approved land acknowledgment available on a central webpage in the USU website. It may only be used in the situations outlined by USHE policy, not in a course syllabus, USU email signature, or university or unit department website.