The Clark-Fox Policy Institute at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis is located on the ancestral lands of the Osage, Missouri and Illini people, who were removed unjustly, and that we in this community are the beneficiaries of that removal. We honor them as we live, work, and study here in St. Louis. Indigenous peoples have inhabited Missouri since time immemorial. Today, there are over 183,400 Native Americans living in the state. 

What is a Land Acknowledgement?


Photo credit at top: Daniel Seurer, courtesy of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Cahokia Mounds is a World Heritage site of a pre-Columbian Native American city which existed circa 1050–1350 CE directly across the Mississippi River from modern St. Louis, Missouri. The massive earthen construction built by the original inhabitants gave St. Louis its nickname, Mound City. Woodhenge III marks the sunrise during solstices.

Deepest gratitude to Dr. Pam Begay, Eric Pinto, MSW, and the staff of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies. Thank you so very much to Dr. John E. Kelly from the Department of Anthropology at Washington University. And our sincerest thanks to Lori Belknap, site superintendent of Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.