How K-State is enacting the Land Acknowledgment

Teaching and Research

The Kansas Treaties Project
The Kansas Land Treaties Project is a public resource for educators, students, and the public to learn more about how Kansas went from the ancestral homeland of Indigenous nations to a state within the United States. This project is in process and will change over the next several years.

National Endowment for the Humanities
Three-year grant to enable the creation of integrated content (annotations, videos, interviews, etc.) on Land Grants and Indigenous nations/histories into nearly every composition classroom.

Financial Resources

Indigenous Alliance Native American Indigenous Scholarship
This award offers a $1,500 scholarship for eligible first-year and transfer students who support Native American or Indigenous activities at K-State.

Indigenous Peoples Residency
In-state tuition for students of tribes with historical ties to Kansas.

Land Grant Promise
This award provides Pell-eligible, Kansas undergraduates with a household income of $70,000 or less, gift aid equal to tuition.

K-State Community Building

Land acknowledgment revision
Core Indigenous Faculty Staff Alliance members have been working with Provost Mendez and Vice Provost Mohr-Schroeder to reformulate the university land acknowledgment and rebuild its webpage and resources. Part of this process includes visits with the five nations (four federally recognized Kansas nations and the Kaw nation) to seek feedback and build community.

Indigenous Peoples Day
This annual event celebrates and honors the histories, cultures, and contributions of Indigenous peoples.

Orange Shirt Day
National Day for Truth and Reconciliation happens annually in recognition of the damage done by the residential school system still impacting Indigenous communities today.

Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance (IFSA)
Our mission is to create decolonized spaces at the university and increase the presence, promotion, and support of Indigenous faculty, staff and students at K-State.

Indigenous Student Resources
Student organizations such as Native American Student Body (NASB) and American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) are focused on increasing the representation of Indigenous peoples and their culture in across all aspects of the university.

IFSA Representation
IFSA have a presence on the Arts and Sciences Well-Being and Belonging Committee who's mission is to promote mutual understanding and a welcoming environment where everyone feels they belong and can succeed.

IFSA Advising
IFSA staff serve as an advisor to Feminist Igniting Resurgence and Empowerment (FIRE), a student organization who seeks to employ consciousness-raising, political education, and activism in order to confront the injustices that affect local and regional communities.

Local Community Engagement

College-for-a-Day
A one-day visit for tribal students to explore the campus, hear from program leaders and connect with Indigenous students enrolled at the university.

College-for-a-Day: Athletics Edition
A one-day visit for tribal students to meet with coaches, tour facilities and connect with Indigenous athletes on campus.

Research
Undergraduate students collaborated with faculty and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation to design renewable energy solutions that strengthen Tribal energy sovereignty.

Arts
The Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art has acquired a beaded crown made by Prairie Band Potawatomi artist Joanna Mitchell. This type of crown is worn during tribal social dances.

The museum’s 2025 acquisition was a portrait by Wazhazhe/Osage artist Ryan RedCorn. The 10-foot portrait features sisters Courtney Neff and Brittney Trout (also affiliated to the Wazhazhe/Osage Nation) and the traditional finger-woven belts made by their grandmother.  

Tutoring
IFSA member weekly presence as a tutor for youth of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation

Community service
IFSA members volunteer and build relationships at the annual Kaw Youth Language Powwow in Oklahoma  and annual Kaw Powwow in Council Grove.

IFSA membership on the state-level Kansas Advisory Council for Indigenous Education Committee working to develop Indigenous-led social studies guidelines and curriculum

IFSA member (Janis Simon of the Kickapoo tribe) was K-State's Tribal Food Systems Coordinator. She worked to coordinate the development and execution of the Tribal Food Systems project through Kansas SNAP-Ed to increase access to culturally appropriate nutrition education and access to healthy foods.

Training and education
Providing professional development training for K-12 teachers in English and Social Studies as well as participating in state-level workshops and teacher training.

Leading training on Indigenous experiences in the US for Child Advocacy Centers, district courts, organizations supporting Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault survivors, Riley County PD, and government agencies, including the Kansas Attorney General's Victim Services Division.