Lionsgate Academy

The Lionsgate Academy School District recognizes the unique and enduring relationship that exists between Indigenous People and their traditional territories. We acknowledge that our schools and communities rest on the stolen historic homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe tribes of Minnesota.

Let this acknowledgment serve as a reminder of our ongoing efforts to recognize and honor the Dakota and Ojibwe people whose stolen lands and water we benefit from today.

Creating the LGA Land Acknowledgment

The LGA Land acknowledgment was created over the course of the 2025-2026 school year by a committee of staff from across the district. Led by the Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging and Restorative Practices, and the Restorative Practices Coordinator, the committee met monthly. Below is the process we went through to create this land acknowledgment.

We began by setting guiding intentions for this process. We agreed to prioritize collaboration with Indigenous community members, writing not just an acknowledgment but also a series of commitments, and creating multiple versions of this land acknowledgment to make it accessible for all our students.

Next, we educated ourselves about the history of the land on which our schools reside seeking out narratives from Indigenous voices. We then reviewed other land acknowledgments written for neighboring organizations and towns, and we learned about the different perspectives and conversations around creating land acknowledgments. We then invited in Indigenous voices, collaborating with Justyne Vogel, the American Indian Education Coordinator for Shakopee Public Schools. Next, with sections written by each committee member, we collaged together a land acknowledgment and list of district commitments. Finally, we created modified versions of this land acknowledgement with visual aids and simplified language to ensure accessibility for all our community members.

This land acknowledgment and our learning about how best to be in good relationship with Indigenous communities is not stagnant or complete. With this in mind, we are committed to revisiting this land acknowledgment and reflecting on our growth as a district in this area every three years.

The committee wrote this land acknowledgement with the knowledge that it will never be perfect. Our goal was not to write something perfect, our goal was to recognize and pay respect to the often overlooked history and presence of Indigenous people and their relationship to the land we are on today. We know that the stories we tell about this land impact the beliefs we hold and the actions we take. By giving this land acknowledgement, we remind ourselves and others of the ongoing impacts of colonialism, and we reaffirm our commitment to equity and justice. It is our hope that this land acknowledgement will spark meaningful conversations, education, and growth within our community.