Land Acknowledgment
The greenways built by Great Rivers Greenway around the confluences of the great Mississippi, Missouri, and Meramec Rivers and the many waterways that flow into them are located in present-day St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County.
The land where the greenways are located is the ancestral land of the Osage people who have a strong connection to this land and for whom it is sacred, and the confluences of the waterways around the region are powerful and sacred places for the Osage people. Many other tribes have also lived on or used this land for hunting, trading, sacred practices, or were forced to relocate from their homelands to this region. Indigenous Peoples are an important part of the St. Louis community today. We honor their stories and ongoing contributions to our community.
Historical Context
The St. Louis region is the ancestral and sacred land of the Osage people. Many of the other tribes who have also called the St. Louis region home include the Ponca, Kaw, Omaha, Quapaw, Cahokia, Kaskaskia, Tamaroa, Peoria, Michigamea, Moingwena, Shawnee, Delaware, Sac, Fox, Apache, Miami, Winnebago, Otoe, Missouria, Mingo, Cherokee, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Chickasaw, Onondaga, Pawnee, Padouca, and Oceti Sakowin.
The greenways and the entire St. Louis region are on stolen land. Through genocide and exploitation of the Indigenous people who lived here, colonial settlers forced their way onto this land. Spanish, French, British, and American invaders forcibly removed these Indigenous Peoples from the St. Louis region. From 1845-1909, Indigenous people were banned from living in the St. Louis region and the entire state of Missouri. Less than fifty years later, St. Louis was one of several urban areas participating in the American Indian Urban Relocation program – an ongoing effort of the US federal government to erase Indigenous culture through assimilation by relocating Indigenous people into American urban areas often without the promised relocation assistance. There are currently over 13,500 Indigenous people living in St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County.
Indigenous Interpretation Council
Formed in 2018, the Indigenous Interpretation Council works with Great Rivers Greenway to:
- Provide input on Indigenous information shared on greenways
- Review content for interpretive signs and tours on greenways
- Provide guidance and insight on how to include Indigenous heritage and culture in greenway interpretation
Additional Resources
(including links to the nations and tribes whose ancestors lived on or used the land where the greenways are located)
- Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies
- Alliance for Native Programs & Initiatives
- Missouri Humanities Council Native American Heritage Program
- Osage Nation
- Ponca Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma
- Kaw Nation
- Omaha Tribe of Nebraska
- Quapaw Nation
- Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma
- Shawnee Tribe
- Delaware Tribe of Indians
- Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska
- Sac and Fox Nation
- Meskwaki Nation
- Apache Tribe of Oklahoma
- Miami Tribe of Oklahoma
- Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
- Otoe-Missouri Tribe
- Seneca-Cayuga Nation
- Cherokee Nation
- Kansas Kickapoo Tribe
- Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma
- Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas
- Mexican Kickapoo
- Citizen Potawatomi Nation
- Forest County Potawatomi
- Hannahville Indian Community
- Gun Lake Tribe
- Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi
- Pokagon Band of Potawatomi
- Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation
- Wasauksing First Nation
- Walpole Island First Nation
- Chickasaw Nation
- Onondaga Nation
- Pawnee Nation
- Oglala Sioux Tribe
- Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
- Yankton Sioux Tribe
- Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate
- Fort Peck Tribes
- Rosebud Sioux Tribe
- Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation
- Lower Brule Sioux Tribe
- Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe
- Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community