Social Sustainability
Â鶹´«Ã½’s Commitment
sustainNU is committed to embedding sustainability throughout Â鶹´«Ã½'s operations and culture. Sustainability is a collective effort that cannot be achieved in isolation. This includes the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to sustainability and the environment. Â鶹´«Ã½ is located near communities of concern, which are areas that have been systematically exposed to environmental hazards including, but not limited to, freeways and industrial facilities, a lack of tree canopy and green space, and exposure to high levels of pollution. Many of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni live in or have relationships with these communities. We are committed to the well-being of people and communities.
Â鶹´«Ã½’s Land Acknowledgement
Indigenous people have maintained a deep respect for the land, beginning long before modern environmental movements. Indigenous nations, families, and individuals continue to set examples for aligning with nature, rather than seeing land only as a resource. This respect for our natural environment is imperative to fostering a healthy and sustainable world.
Â鶹´«Ã½ is a community of learners situated within a network of historical and contemporary relationships with Native American tribes, communities, parents, students, and alumni. It is also in close proximity to an urban Native American community in Chicago and near several tribes in the Midwest. The Â鶹´«Ã½ campus sits on the traditional homelands of the people of the Council of Three Fires, the Ojibwe, Potawatomi, and Odawa as well as the Menominee, Miami and Ho-Chunk nations. It was also a site of trade, travel, gathering and healing for more than a dozen other Native tribes and is still home to over 100,000 tribal members in the state of Illinois.
It is within Â鶹´«Ã½'s responsibility as an academic institution to disseminate knowledge about Native peoples and the institution's history with them. Â鶹´«Ã½ works towards building relationships with Native American communities through academic pursuits, partnerships, historical recognitions, community service and enrollment efforts.
Learn more at Â鶹´«Ã½'s Native American and Indigenous Initiatives page.