Princeton seeks to build relationships with Native American and Indigenous communities through academic pursuits, partnerships, historical recognitions, community service and enrollment efforts.

On-campus partners in this work include:

• Princeton Indigenous Advocacy Coalition (convened by the Undergraduate Student Government)
• Princeton American Indian and Indigenous Studies Working Group (PAIISWG) 
• Natives at Princeton

Campus Activities

Land Acknowledgements

The University provides guidance for colleagues and students seeking to craft a land acknowledgement text for their unit or group.

Princeton is in conversation with Lenni-Lenape tribes regarding plans to formally mark and acknowledge the land Princeton sits on as Lenni-Lenape territory.

Student Admission and Access

Annually since 2017, the University has hosted the Santa Fe Indian School Leadership Institute’s summer policy academy.

Princeton hosted College Horizons, a national nonprofit focused on college access for native- and indigenous-identified high school students, in 2017.

Indigenous and Native American Studies

The Program in American Studies serves as the home for Native American/Indigenous studies at Princeton, through the Princeton American Indian and Indigenous Studies Working Group (PAIISWG). Recent course offerings include “Native American and Indigenous Studies: An Introduction,” “New Approaches to Indigenous and Ecological Issues,” “Indigenous Social Movements in the Americas” & “Introduction to Indigenous Literature,” among others.

Recent academic conferences and events include:

• The “Indigneous/Settler” Conference sponsored by the Princeton Humanities Council
• The International Symposium on Indigenous Communities and Climate Change, held at the Princeton Public Library and Princeton University
• The Public Lands, Private Hands exhibition at the Princeton University Art Museum and co-sponsored by the Princeton Environmental Institute

Native and Indigenous Student Life

Every November, Natives at Princeton honors Native American Heritage Month. With support from President Eisgruber, students raise a tipi as an opening event to kick off the month of activities including dinners, movies, musicians and speakers surrounding the issues of Native Americans and indigenous peoples.

In 2017, Princeton hosted an Ivy Native Council conference which brings together Native and Indigenous students from all Universities in the Ivy League to exchange ideas and share in fellowship.  The theme of the conference was “Treaties: Understanding the Past to Move to the Future.”