Land and Waters Acknowledgement

We gather and create on the ancestral and ongoing homeland of the Mound Cultures Peoples, the Shawandasse Tula (Shawanwaki/Shawnee), the Kaskaskia, the Ofo, the Adena, the Delaware, the Ottawa, the Wyandot, the Seneca, the Cayuga and the Myaamia peoples. The place we know today as Schiller Park, in Columbus, Ohio, was taken from its original stewards through forceful and harmful treaties, but it has been cared for and held in relationship by these peoples since long before it was given that name, and they remain here, now.

As artists who make live theatre in this public park, we recognize that this ground carries stories and relationships far older than our own. We come to it with gratitude, and we try to meet it with care. For us, that care takes shape in making a space that is welcoming and accessible to all, and in offering our performances free of charge, so this park can remain a shared place of gathering and expression.

We also commit to carrying this reflection beyond the stage: through acknowledgement in our materials and through connecting our audiences to the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO). These words are not an ending point. They are one step in an ongoing commitment to this land, these waters, and the peoples who belong to them.