In 2021, members of the ZACC board and staff spent time with our Equity and Belonging Statement, and revisited, and ultimately rewrote, our Land Acknowledgement. Three board members who are Indigenous Americans advised us during this process, and we are incredibly grateful for their participation and direction. After many meetings and multiple discussions, consensus was reached, and our new Land Acknowledgement Statement read, and still reads:
The ZACC acknowledges that we stand on stolen land — and that land acknowledgment is only one small part of supporting Indigenous communities. We commit resources, time, and energy toward reparations and work to amplify the voices, artworks, and movements of Native nations throughout all facets of the ZACC, and we encourage others to do the same.
At the ZACC, we sincerely believe that our policies should be a call to action, and this month we are so happy that we are able to actively support Missoula’s Indigenous Community by providing space and resources for ‘Indigenizing the ZACC, How We Celebrate Our Families, A Benefit for MMIR’. We’re grateful to our partners in the Indigenous Community for their collaboration and leadership, and we’re grateful to Jeannette Rankin Peace Center, and sponsors All Nations Health Center and First Security Bank, for their support of this event, both financially and through their own personal labor.
And most of all, we’re excited! We hope you’ll join us all here at the ZACC on Friday, September 8, for this amazing Indigenous-led event, which includes an Indigenous Art Market from 3 to 7 PM, an MMIR / #MikaMatters Walk from Jeannette Rankin Peace Center to the ZACC at 5:30 PM, Gallery Openings in all three galleries from 6 to 8 PM (‘Visible Voices: Contemporary Issues IEFA Mural Series’, Works by Students of Frazer School on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation – In the Youth Gallery, ‘How We Celebrate our Families’ A Benefit for MMIR – in the Main Gallery, and an MMIR Silent Benefit Auction – in the Blackfoot Communications Gallery), and Music & Storytelling, featuring Jack Gladstone, at 8 PM in The Show Room.
Sincerely yours,
Team ZACC
