We acknowledge that the Prout Research Institute (PRI) was built upon the ancestral land of the Cherokee People or Aniyunwiya in the Cherokee Language. For thousands of years, the Cherokee evolved a culture and language in sacred harmony with all creation.
The PRI, which promotes the Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout), supports the idea of Cosmic ownership, the idea that recognizes one Universal Entity as the owner of all land and resources and humanity’s role in the just and equitable utilization of these resources for the welfare of all.
Prout is also guided by Neohumanism, a new expression of humanism that recognizes all human beings as sisters and brothers in one family, and that also nurtures love and respect for all created beings and the inanimate world. Prout rejects all forms of exploitation which divide and suppress humanity. Guided by these principles, the PRI deems the injustices and suffering of the Cherokee, and all other indigenous peoples of North America, at the hands of European invaders as unacceptable and requiring action that addresses this harm.
Before their encounters with European colonizers, Cherokee towns were established throughout what is now known as the southeastern United States. Today, the town of Cherokee, North Carolina is the capital of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) and is about 70 miles west of the PRI campus, residing within the Qualla Boundary.
Most of Cherokee land was stolen by successive generations of colonizers through slaughter, removal, starvation, smallpox, genocide, and erasure of identity. The history of treaties made and broken documents the basic rights of the Cherokee that were stolen.
The Prout Research Institute seeks to learn about and support the history and culture of the Cherokee on the parcel of land that we now live and work upon. Further, we accept our responsibility to identify these lands as Cherokee,PRI pledges to take action steps to begin to rectify harm done and that addresses the needs and aspirations of the Cherokee people from now and into the future. and to seek out a partnership that is based on understanding, responsibility, and support.
PRI pledges to take action steps to begin to rectify harm done and that addresses the needs and aspirations of the Cherokee people from nowher, we her, we and into the future.
Action Plan
Dispersal of 5 percent of the Institute’s Excess of Revenues over Expenses to be donated to the Cherokee Preservation Foundation.
Preference to contract with Cherokee businesses for services, wherever possible.
Identifying research, oral history, testimony, and references to the Cherokee on our land.
To develop a resource guide on our website that covers: The history and present state of local, regional, national, and global Land Acknowledgment Statements, an ongoing history of the progress and development of our own LAS, and an archive of relevant documents, publications, and resources.
Recommended Reading Material. Below are links to articles, how-to resources, and actual Land Acknowledgement Statements.
We welcome recommendations of other reading material as well as other comments and suggestions about indigenous land acknowledgement.
Acknowledging Native Land is a Step Against Indigenous Erasure by Mariah Stewart, December 19, 2019, INSIGHT Into Diversity
Buncombe Register of Deeds launches Cherokee Land Acknowledgement website by Scott, November 6, 2021, CHEROKEE ONE FEATHER
How to make Indigenous Peoples Day mean something by Trey Adcock, ᏣᎳᎩᎯ ᎠᏰᎵ, Cherokee Nation, is an associate professor at UNC Asheville, where he serves as director of American Indian & Indigenous Studies. Posted on October 4, 2021, by Xpress Contributor.
Personal Essay: Land Acknowledgments Fall Short in Honoring Indigenous People by Summer Wilkie, January 26, 2021. Reprinted in the CHEROKEE PHOENIX. Summer Wilkie is a Cherokee graduate student at the University of Arkansas. She serves as the student coordinator for native and indigenous people at the U of A’s center for multicultural and diversity education.
- Online Resources
As Long As The Grass Shall Grow A history of Cherokee land cessions and the formation of Buncombe County, Buncombe County Register of Deeds
Decolonize Clemson Land Acknowledgement
Native Governance Center Land Acknowledgement Resources
A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgment
- Land Acknowledgement Statements (and press releases thereof)
Anti-Racist Graduate Worker Collective at UNC-Chapel Hill
Furman University (press release with statement)
North Carolina Botanical Garden
UNC-Asheville’s Cherokee Land Acknowledgement (includes Short and Full Versions)