Land Acknowledgement

Progressive Maryland acknowledges that both our organization and the spaces we work within stand upon the unceded ancestral homelands of the Indigenous people of Maryland, including the Accohannock Indian Tribe, Assateague Peoples Tribe, Nause-Waiwash Band of Indians, Piscataway Conoy Tribe, Piscataway Indian Nation, Pocomoke Indian Nation and Youghiogheny River Band of Shawnee Indians. We acknowledge them as the original stewards of Maryland's lands. 

We recognize the history upon which we were founded and that Maryland government and institutions were founded upon and continue to enact exclusions, erasure, and genocide of Indigenous people. We strive to build robust relationships with Indigenous people and maintain a diverse and inclusive organization that can serve our surrounding communities with honor and respect. 

However, we also know that a land acknowledgement statement isn’t enough to undo the generations of settler colonialism and genocide in Maryland. In 2023, we made a commitment to support our Indigenous communities in their efforts for land preservation and sovereignty. 

As an organization, we operate on stolen Indigenous land. We pay a voluntary monthly land tax to the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians to support efforts to revitalize Native land and communities and to help Indigenous people regain control of their ancestral territory. 

See the historical boundaries, languages, and treaties of the tribes in Maryland here. 

What is #LandBack?

#LandBack is an Indigenous-led movement for the reclamation of everything stolen from Indigenous peoples. It means that Indigenous people regain access to sustainable food from the land and affordable housing. It means a language and cultural revival of ceremony and traditional medicines. It means access to healthcare and education for all Indigenous people, and the ability to self-govern and have sovereignty through a narrative, political, and organizational framework. Read the #LandBack manifesto to learn more.