Clackamas Community College Land and Labor Acknowledgement Exhibition

Clackamas Community College has adopted the Land and Labor Acknowledgements listed below which support its 2021-26 Strategic Priorities: Excellence in Teaching and Learning; Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Community Connections.These statements recognize the histories and ongoing contributions of Indigenous peoples, as well as the labor of communities whose work has shaped the spaces we share.

We invite you to reflect on the CCC Land and Labor Acknowledgements and consider how they intersect with your lived experience—whether through your work, your family history, your community, or your connection to the region. The work(s) you create will represent Native American and African American histories, respectively, and will help remind our broader community of what has transpired on and contributed to the development of the area surrounding the Oregon City campus. Through these pieces, we aim to publicly express and honor our Land and Labor Acknowledgements in ways that are meaningful to all who engage with our campus.

The chosen work(s) will be part of a permanent Land and Labor Acknowledgement Exhibit that will function as a community space where all can learn about, reflect upon, and honor stories that serve an inclusive and diverse campus.

Potential installation sites include interior spaces at Clackamas Community College on the Oregon City Campus.

CCC Land Acknowledgement – We acknowledge that the Clackamas Community College campuses reside on the traditional homelands of the Clackamas, Cascades, and Tumwater bands of Chinooks, as well as the Tualatin and Pudding River bands of Kalapuya and the Northern Molalla people. They lived and prospered by maintaining strong cultural ties to the land, and through wise management of resources. As signers of the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855, they were removed from their homelands to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation where they became members of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. We thank and honor the original caretakers of this land, their lives, and their descendants that live on as Tribal members today, still carrying on the traditions and cultures of their ancestors.

CCC Labor Acknowledgement - We acknowledge that the foundation and wealth of the United States was built upon the forced labor of enslaved African people, involuntary and trafficked Indigenous labor, and the often-exploited labor of immigrant domestic and farm workers. Their vital contributions and resilience in spite of violence, terror tactics, and bloodshed are integral to understanding our nation's past, present, and hope of what's to come. The prosperity many enjoy today is rooted in centuries of labor extracted under conditions of injustice, inequality, and ongoing systemic oppression. Acknowledging this truth is a step toward honoring those who were denied justice, and toward creating a future that is more equitable, inclusive, and humane.