Community Acknowledgement
The importance of Haseenay language revitalization cannot be understated. Haseenay is not only a means of communication. Haseenay language carries thousands of years of traditional knowledge and tribal history; it is the medium our ceremonies are spoken and sung in, and it encodes our uniquely Caddo worldview into every expression of our culture and identity.
We acknowledge our ancestors who kept our language alive as an act of self-determination and resistance in the face of dispossession of our homelands, discriminatory laws and assimilation policies, and the rise of English as a culturally dominant language. We would not be able to use our language today if it was not for their choice to speak despite all obstacles.
The past Haseenay language efforts have shown the work we do today will serve to benefit the children of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma tomorrow. Our people are our greatest asset; with this in mind, the Caddo language workers would like to recognize the Haseenay community members who take it upon themselves to speak Haseenay every day, no matter how much they know. The success of our movement is not possible without their commitment, love for their people, and love for Haseenay ways.
Land Acknowledgement
We acknowledge the Kitikiti'sh and K'itaish (Wichita and Keechi), [Káuigú (Kiowa), Nʉmʉnʉʉ (Comanche), and Naishan (Plains Apache), whose ancestral homelands or seasonal territory our tribal headquarters are built upon in Southwestern Oklahoma. We offer our gratitude to the land that has been our tribe's home since 1859 and the people that cared for it long before colonial borders were ever drawn. The Haseenay are a displaced people. We acknowledge the Chahta (Choctaw) caretakers of our ancestral homelands and homewaters in Southeastern Oklahoma and all the living things of the land and waters that sustained our ancestors for more than a thousand years before our removal to present-day southwestern Oklahoma. As members of a sovereign Native nation and survivors of ongoing settler colonialism, we have a responsibility to stand by our native neighbors in solidarity as they fight for their languages. We honor our ties with our Kitikiti'sh, [Káuigú, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, K'itaish, Naishan and Chahta relatives, now and in the future.
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