It has become increasingly common in academia to encourage statements that formally recognize indigenous ties to the land. In December 2021, Reges criticized land acknowledgment statements in an email to faculty, and the next month he parodied UW’s model statement in his syllabus: “I acknowledge that by the labor theory of property the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of almost none of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.” Reges’s statement was a nod to John Locke’s philosophical theory that property rights are established by labor, and a response to the Computer Science department’s recommendation that professors include the UW’s model statement in their syllabi. Reges objected to the political nature of the UW’s model statement and sought to demonstrate that there are competing views on the value of land acknowledgments.That was retaliation and viewpoint discrimination [by the University] according to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
September 5, 2026
"Washington professor who parodied university 'land acknowledgment' wins $600K settlement."
FIRE reports.
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40 comments:
The University's actions were the retaliation and discrimination. Not entirely clear to me, reading above.
Which included this perfectly Orwellian bit of totalitarian vindictiveness. The words give it away!
'The university also initiated a nearly year-long investigation of Reges under an “antiharassment” policy.'
Leftists HARM, Harass, and demand you obey their speech codes..
Soviets.
This summer, I meet a newly appointed liberal professor at a San Francisco university that was made to make a similar type of statement at a group meeting. Instead of acknowledging that he was now on land previously owned by a native American tribe, he acknowledged that he he was on land that dinosaurs had roamed on. The faculty didn't appreciate his humor and he had to get an attorney involved to keep his position.
He volunteered this to me after I told him that Liberals should focus on why Trump got elected instead of just criticizing him.
"The University's actions were the retaliation and discrimination. Not entirely clear to me, reading above."
I added some bracketed language to avoid puzzlement. Thanks.
Inner Party, Outer Party, Prole. Each has a role to play.
What form did the retaliation take? Wrongful termination?
I acknowledge that John Locke's theory of labor privileges agricultural labor over hunting, fishing, and gathering.
But wait. AI weighs in:
"When an individual mixes their own labor with an unowned natural resource (such as gathering acorns or clearing wild land), they annex that resource to themselves, removing it from the common stock and making it their private property."
Right or wrong? Locke's readers were more likely to assume that the acorn gatherers could be cleared out by agriculturalists.
I didn't like his reasoning -- "tribes" (a modern term and concept) certainly claimed large swaths of territory in the PNW where they seasonally hunted/gathered resources, although in this case there was some sharing of access with other tribes.
"I acknowledge the [x tribe's] historical ownership of the land. Of course, we're not giving it back. And we aren't going to pay rent. But at least having said this makes us feel better about ourselves, and that's what's really important here."
Amexpat: "he acknowledged that he was on land that dinosaurs had roamed on. "
He should have saved that for a conference at La Brea. CC, JSM
Let’s do a land acknowledgment for the homeowners displaced by Kelo vs New London.
The liberal arts at USA universities are so corrupt and anti-American I have no idea why they are still being funded or given tax exempt status. They should be shut down. But of course they wont be because blah blah blah. IOW, the power elite wants them funded. And spewing out their nonsense.
Probably would have worked out the same if the statement said the Coast Salish people can claim historical ownership of at least some of the land currently occupied by the University of Washington.
Wow! The 9th Circuit actually ruled in his favor! Amazing! Was it unanimous or were there dissents?
Though I can't post a meme here, the appropriate one shows the Land O Lakes butter box design with the Indian girl and the revised one without her. "Remove the Indian but keep the land".
The land acknowledgements are parodies of themselves, so they need no further discussion.
Given what I've read about the 9th Circuit , I too am a bit surprised.
I see some university history lectures from Catholic schools from time to time on CSpan, in which the professor makes a statement of faith or gratitude at the beginning, but I don't know if it's required or optional.
It's a way of saying that your ownership is tenuous, maybe even illegal, and on some brave, new day reversible........I'm reading Gotham by Edwin G. Burrows. It's a history of NYC and won a Pulitzer. Burrows claims that the Lenapes, the original inhabitants of Manhatas, lived in peace and harmony with nature. The Dutch traders couldn't appreciate the beauty of their ways. Burrows says that the Dutch looked down upon the Lenapes because the men made the women do all the work and they did nothing but hunt and fish. The Dutch felt that hunting and fishing were leisure time activities. They had nothing against women doing lots of work, but they felt that men also had an obligation to work hard......Perhaps the Dutch misjudged the Lenapes, but academics like Burrows aren't all that great in their judgement of indigenous societies. Maybe Native Americans before their conclaves should take a moment and acknowledge how they mistreated the female members of their tribes for thousands of years and that the land properly belongs to them...........There are lots of iniquities associated with private property and bourgeois capitalism but, to date, this is the only society that produces enough leisure and freedom to find fault with them. There were no consciousness raising groups among the Lenape women.
Narr, spot on. Catholic schoolkids were taught to put JMJ (Jesus, Mary and Joseph) at the top of every paper. Muslims start every writing with 'Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem' (In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful). Soviets used to force every academic paper to include some link to Marxist-Leninist Thought. Postmodern lefties force the institutions they capture to recite land acknowledgements before every public event, and to include discussions of anthropogenic climate change in every academic paper, even if it's about watch fobs in Jane Austen.
It's all discipline through repetition of pieties. CC, JSM
This could be settled quickly and dispositively by simply quoting a few sentences from objective ethnological studies of how these indigenous tribes happened to settle their own land acknowledgement issues. Such as, for example, the killing of every male and the rape and enslavement of every female of the other tribe.
First, second, third, etc waves? Narive American Indian colonists. Geographical or jurisdictional? Animal rights?
The university "created a competing class" so students wouldn't have to be subjected to someone with a sense of humor and history. In Computer Science. Jeez.
The settlement should have included an acknowledgement from the university that they are a bunch of Orwellian thought police.
FYI, according to Gemini AI, the 9th Circuit Reges v. Cauce case was a 2-1 decision with Bress (appointed by Trump) and Smith (appointed by George W. Bush) in the majority, and Thomas (appointed by Clinton) in opposition. Not sure why the 9th Circuit didn't then go to a full en banc hearing.
Maybe the case was even too ridiculous for the Woke Dems who control the 9th Circuit.
This is just bigotry. After a long series of conquering people took lands from each other in succession, it was only the one time it was done by European descendants that has to apologize.
Do the surviving tribes today ever apologize for taking it from the previous people, and especially for losing it to a bunch of crackers?
Macro pettiness.
Could we say the University hang by its own petard?
ai: Modern Use: Over time, "hoist" turned into words like "hung," "hoisted," or "caught," but the core idea remains the same: an ironic reversal where your own trick hurts you instead of your target.
I'm waiting for an Indian tribe to take one of these entities who publish land acknowledgements at their word and demand that they return the land.
"Though I can't post a meme here, the appropriate one shows the Land O Lakes butter box design with the Indian girl and the revised one without her. "Remove the Indian but keep the land"."
Perfect. I'm reminded of the faux pa, every time i cruise the dairy isle.
Have there ever been any wide scale studies to determine why academics consistently overestimate the virtues of primitive societies and underestimate the vices of Marxist ones? I don't think it's genetic or a lack of intelligence, but it's been a widespread and consistent flaw among them for generations. Maybe it's something in the diet. Too much school cafeteria food maybe.
No need to resort to Locke. For 20,000 years the rule among the indigenies was that land belongs to the people who can take and keep it. Pretty good precedent.
"The land acknowledgements are parodies of themselves."
Enter Billie Eilish and her "stolen land" award ceremony speech.
Just think, with that kind of money he can buy some acreage, invite guests over, and have a nice performative acknowledgment to the University of Washington when they arrive.
These same leftists and the ACLU(D) - demand we de-fund ICE and hand our over-burdened social programs (that WE all paid into) - to people who are here illegally. and grant these illegals everything - including drivers licenses and voting.
Do you think France, Switzerland or New Zealand would allow ME to waltz in without papers, and just take over? gimme a free hotel room and free health care that I never paid into?
"I'm waiting for an Indian tribe to take one of these entities who publish land acknowledgements at their word and demand that they return the land."
British Columbia has entered the chat.
John Mosby,
"and although there is no mention of watch fobs in Pride and Prejudice, if there had been some, they would have been evidence of white racism and imperial terrorism."
Peachy, I read your "ME" as "Middle East" and thought, well, France HAS allowed the ME to waltz in and demand things, including freedom to cross La Manche headed for more generous climes.
Affirmative performative action.
They actually tried to punish a guy for that. His land acknowledgement is great. I would never make it in academia. It seems like you're never allowed to do anything amusing. Who was he supposed to be offending anyway? Is there some defeated Salish warrior wandering around in despond?
Fred - well that's True. (ME = myself above)
I'm just a non-leftist. No one wants to fork over the goodies my way.
Islam provides the votes - *handshake/wink* the left in power provide the free rapes.
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