On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, our 7th graders presented their research on the history of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and also of the Schaghticoke people of what is now Kent, Connecticut. They’d worked on it for a long time, digging deep into library archives around the area. The presentation is one of many to come, as we work to better understand the history of this land, and the people that came before us. 

As we look ahead to our centennial year and the years beyond, we are energized to fully recognize and honor the history of the land, and to promote good stewardship of it. We seek to build relationships with the land and the people who called these hills home for centuries. One step in this endeavor is our land acknowledgement: a formal statement that recognizes the original stewards of the land on which our school exists.

After our students’ presentation we shared a draft of our Land Acknowledgement statement. This statement will continue to be examined and refined, but we’d like to share it with you in its current form:

We acknowledge that Indian Mountain School is located on the ancestral land of the Mohicans, currently referred to as the Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Indians, “the people of the waters that are never still.” We thank them for their strength and resilience in protecting this land, and aspire to uphold our responsibilities according to their example.

Draft of the IMS Land Acknowledgement Statement