Indigenous land acknowledgments halted by Mat-Su School District
- Mat-Su Sentinel
- 5 hours ago
- 5 min read
Decision to remove signs from all schools and halt statements at events was not subject to public comment
By Amy Bushatz
Mat-Su Sentinel
Indigenous land acknowledgment signs will no longer be displayed in Mat-Su District school buildings, and traditional land acknowledgment statements will no longer be permitted at district events under a change crafted by officials this fall after school board members said they believe such statements are divisive.
An administrative email directing Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District principals to stop using a brief land acknowledgment statement during ceremonies was sent in August, Superintendent Randy Trani said in an interview this month. District facilities crews began removing the signs on a rolling basis Oct. 15, he said.
Trani ordered the sign removal and replacement statement in response to a policy update requested by school board members during a roughly seven-minute discussion at the board’s June 4 regular meeting, he said.
The topic was not on the meeting agenda and no members of the public testified on the issue. It was not subject to a board vote.
Under the update, administrators who wish to acknowledge Alaska Native history at events may instead use a “shared histories and service recognition” statement that honors explorers, settlers, colonists, the Dena’ina and Ahtna peoples, members of the military, first responders, educators, and healthcare workers, district officials said in a statement.
The district’s Federal Programs office and the Chickaloon and Knik Tribal Councils developed the previous land acknowledgment statement during the 2019-20 school year. It read:
“We wish to acknowledge that this school resides on the ancestral land of the Dena’ina and Ahtna people who have stewarded this area for thousands of years. Our community thrives thanks to their continued sharing of vision, wisdom, values, and leadership,” according to district documents.
A plaque displaying that statement was previously installed in every Mat-Su school building, typically near the entryway, officials said. One was also displayed outside the school board chambers in the district’s administration building in Palmer. The black-and-silver signs cost about $226 each and were distributed in 2020, officials said.
Trani ordered the creation of the new statement, which was crafted by district office staff, officials said. The Knik and Chickaloon Tribal Councils were not consulted about the plaque removals or the updated ceremony statement, officials said. A version of the new shared history statement is not currently planned for display in district buildings, Trani said.
The original statement and plaque message were not presented to the school board for approval before adoption in 2020 and were not subject to public comment, according to a review of board meeting minutes from the 2019-20 school year.
A similar statement developed with the Native Village of Eklutna is displayed in Anchorage School District facilities and read at official district events. A measure implementing that land acknowledgment was approved by the Anchorage district’s governance committee in 2023, according to board records.
The prohibition on land acknowledgments at Mat-Su schools applies only to official statements by district staff, not students, district spokesperson John Notestine said in a statement.
“Students continue to have the same limited free speech rights they’ve always had,” he said. “If a student chooses to make a land acknowledgment statement as part of their own time during a school event, like a graduation speech, they are permitted to do so.”
The issue of whether land acknowledgments are appropriate in Mat-Su buildings or at school events was first raised to district staff by board member Andrew Shane before the June 4 meeting, Shane said in an interview. Such statements feel like “continuing to try to tear open an old wound,” he said during the board meeting.
“I am a proud Unangax. My father was born and raised on the Pribilof Islands. From the first time I heard a land acknowledgment, I remember thinking to myself, ‘What is the point of this? How does this help anyone? Should non-Alaska Natives feel guilty for being here? Should Alaska Natives feel shame for losing control of the land to the Russians, who later sold it to the U.S.?’” Shane said in a statement this week.
“As a community leader, I want our school district to encourage unity, not division. These types of statements, especially in a K-12 education system — intentional or not — seek to bring guilt to those who were not responsible for past transgressions and a victim mentality to those who were not even born during such time. My hope is that all members of our community recognize that they are caretakers of the beautiful Mat-Su Valley we inhabit. While I believe knowing where you came from and celebrating cultures are important, it should never seek to divide us as a society,” he said.
Chickaloon and Knik officials said they disagree. Removing the signs reflects the school board’s broader lack of interest in honoring Alaska Native culture, Knik Tribal Council Executive Director Richard Porter said.
“To us, it always seemed disingenuous,” he said. “If they’re not even willing to have a consolation prize of the land acknowledgment to be put up on the side of the wall, why would you think there’s then even an inkling of that kind of engagement or acknowledgment of who you are as a people or what was here before you?”
Porter, who is originally from Yakutat, said the language was developed in 2020 with the help of a tribal official. He said neither he nor Shane should have the final say on local land acknowledgments, because neither is originally from the region.
“It’s not my story to tell — I’m not from here,” he said. “It’s not his story to tell when he’s just a guest here.”
Officials with the Chickaloon Village Traditional Council said land acknowledgments help Alaska Native students maintain important cultural connections.
“Land acknowledgments tell our students that our schools are safe places for them,” Chickaloon Village Traditional Council Executive Officer Lisa Wade told the school board during its Oct. 15 meeting. “They create spaces for people, including our elders and youth, who have at times been invisible.”
Wade said a district staff member privately notified her of the sign removal and the statement update ahead of the meeting. No other members of the public have spoken for or against land acknowledgments during a school board meeting in the past year.
Lily Esmailka, a senior at Su-Valley Jr/Sr High School in Talkeetna who is Koyukon Athabascan, said seeing and hearing land acknowledgments at the school served as an important reminder of the region’s Indigenous culture. She started attending the school as a freshman and is originally from Galena, she said.
“I really like it, especially because we have one extracurricular that’s Alaska foods and cultures class, but we’re not taught the culture throughout the school,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know about the culture already, so just an acknowledgment at graduation is just nice to remind people that there are cultures here, even if we don’t see them much.”
About 7% of Mat-Su District students are Alaska Native or American Indian, according to district data.
The full “Shared Histories and Service Recognition” statement now approved by the district reads:
“The Matanuska-Susitna region has been shaped by many people over time — from early explorers, American settlers, and colonists to the Dena’ina and Ahtna peoples who lived in this area before modern development. Together, their histories form the foundation of our vibrant and growing communities.
“We also want to take a moment to thank the many individuals who serve and protect our community each day — including members of the military, veterans, law enforcement, firefighters, emergency responders, educators, and healthcare professionals. Your dedication and sacrifice make gatherings like this possible, and we are deeply grateful.”
• This article originally appeared in the Mat-Su Sentinel.
