Land Acknowledgment

Land Acknowledgment Statement

The Cleveland Institute of Art believes it’s important to understand the history that brought Northeast Ohioans to reside on this land and to understand our collective place within that history. 

CIA occupies land officially—if not willingly—ceded by 1,100 chiefs and warriors who signed the Treaty of Greenville in 1795.

That land and our buildings are in the city of Cleveland, the county of Cuyahoga, and the state of Ohio. The terms “Cuyahoga” and “Ohio” are both derived from languages of various Indigenous tribes that lived here for thousands of years. We recognize those people for their careful stewardship of this land and acknowledge the thousands of Native Americans who today call Northeast Ohio home.

Finally, we also recognize that colonialism is not limited to our past but continues today in many forms. We encourage you to join us in working to understand and actively address the factors that fuel bigotry and colonialism so that past wrongs are not repeated and so that we can work together for a more just and equitable world.