{"id":81,"date":"2024-09-26T20:39:12","date_gmt":"2024-09-26T20:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2024\/?p=81"},"modified":"2024-11-05T19:54:28","modified_gmt":"2024-11-05T19:54:28","slug":"monuments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/research.unl.edu\/annualreport\/2024\/monuments\/","title":{"rendered":"Uniting around a shared history"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nearly 150 years ago, the Otoe-Missouria Tribe was forced to relocate from southeast Nebraska to Oklahoma. Today, Nebraskans are welcoming back the tribal nation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Jacobs, director of Nebraska\u2019s Center for Great Plains Studies, and Christina Faw Faw Goodson, an Otoe-Missouria educator, historian and cultural linguist, co-lead a multifaceted project aiming to reconnect Otoe-Missourians with their ancestral homeland and to educate Nebraskans about the area\u2019s Indigenous history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For both, it\u2019s an important step toward reconciliation at a critical time.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodson praises the project\u2019s lasting impact.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we were, who we are now and who we hope to be,\u201d she said. \u201cThis was the last place we were at before we were totally removed to Oklahoma. It\u2019s the last place we called home.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project, \u201cWalking in the Footsteps of our Ancestors: Re-Indigenizing Southeast Nebraska,\u201d grew out of relationships Jacobs, Goodson and others developed establishing Otoe-Missouria Day, a commemoration held every Sept. 21.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Connecting people around shared history remains at the project\u2019s heart. More than 50 Native and non-Native people are involved, supporting efforts to create land-based commemorations, build relationships, facilitate reconciliation and document the process to share with other communities.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project earned a $1.58 million grant from the Mellon Foundation\u2019s Monuments Project, which aims to ensure that U.S. monuments and memorials accurately reflect history. It is the largest arts and humanities research grant in UNL\u2019s history. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goodson, said the City of Lincoln and surrounding communities have been enthusiastic supporters. To help Otoe-Missourians reconnect to their ancestral homeland, Lincoln\u2019s Parks and Recreation Department, local Audubon societies, and others are embracing partnerships to design new trails, signage and spaces to host ceremonies or grow Indigenous plants.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Early results from a community survey suggest knowledge about the area\u2019s Indigenous history is limited but interest is high. The project is educating through presentations, monuments and partnerships with schools and local organizations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI see this [project] as part of building a society that is more respectful of everyone, that creates a place where people can connect and thrive and move away from the divisions we\u2019re experiencing right now,\u201d said Jacobs, Charles Mach Professor of History.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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