Land Acknowledgement

We recognize that the Great River Shakespeare Festival sits on ancestral Native land.  The areas on which we rehearse, build, perform, and reside belong to the people of the oθaakiiwaki‧hina‧ki (Sauk), Meškwahki·aša·hina (Fox), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ and Wahpeton nations. GRSF also recognizes the colonization of Winona that occurred 150 years ago and acknowledge the atrocities suffered by the Indigenous people being forcibly removed from their home.

Acknowledging the land that inhabiting or visiting is just the first step in showing solidarity with the Native communities who first called the land home and are the rightful stewards of the land. If you’re visiting a new location and wondering which tribes’ land you’re on, check out the website https://native-land.ca/. 

We further acknowledge that the works of Shakespeare have been maliciously used as a tool of colonization and a way to dehumanize native populations. GRSF is committed to turning our words into actions by finding ways to develop relationships with Indigenous people of this land by lifting and amplifying Indigenous artists in our region. GRSF also commits to our own discovery and the education of others regarding these Native cultures. We seek the community’s help and guidance in this effort.

For an excellent, local resource that includes recommended reading and ways to get involved, please visit www.winonadakotaunityalliance.org

Acknowledgement of Labor

Great River Shakespeare Festival benefits from the unaddressed legacy of stolen (and often fatal) labor at the foundation of this country and its inequitable wealth. We respectfully acknowledge our debt to the enslaved people, primarily of African descent, whose labor and suffering built and grew the economy and infrastructure of a nation that refused to recognize their humanity.

We acknowledge those who did not survive the Middle Passage and that some of our company and audience members, might be direct descendants of those who were enslaved. We acknowledge those who still cannot safely walk down the street or sleep in their own homes and those who are still dying while fighting for their liberation.

We further acknowledge our debt to the Indigenous Nations of this land (please see our Land Acknowledgement statement), the Chinese immigrants who built railroads that allowed for westward American development, Japanese Americans whose properties and livelihoods were taken from them while incarcerated during World War II, and migrant workers from the Philippines, Mexico, and Central and South America who have worked farms and canneries, providing our country’s sustenance under appalling conditions and atrocious wage theft.

We recognize that our economy continues to rely on the exploited labor of incarcerated people, largely people of color, who earn pennies an hour while generating billions in goods and services each year.

We acknowledge that the theft of labor is the theft of generational progress. Nearly all people of color have been robbed of the opportunity and wealth that their ancestors might otherwise have passed on to them.

GRSF has committed to ensuring equitable access to GRSF’s audition process, hiring, and professional development, continually striving to do better with every coming season. GRSF is also taking actionable steps to deepen relations with communities impacted by these inequities, to learn the best ways we can support improving their economic status through our advocacy and programming.

These living acknowledgements commit us to doing anti-racist work today and beyond, as these histories are still being perpetuated via present-day racial privileges. We invite you to join us as we educate ourselves and activate our ability to be agents of change.

Citation: some language taken from Steppenwolf Theatre’s beautifully written Labor Acknowledgement that can be found in full at: https://www.steppenwolf.org/about-us/idea/acknowledgment-of-black-labor/