Riverside trustees table proposed land‑acknowledgment statement pending more review

Constance Quarra, a member of the Riverside Historical Commission, introduced a draft land‑acknowledgment statement developed by commission members and asked the Board of Trustees to consider it for adoption.

Commissioner Kathy Jean Maloney, who compiled the draft, read the proposed text to the board: "We sincerely acknowledge the native peoples on whose ancestral homelands we gather. We hope to honor their legacy by living in harmony with and protecting green spaces, the river, and the beneficial flora and fauna therein." Maloney told trustees the commission also prepared explanatory notes intended for the village website and proposed keeping the short statement distinct from the more detailed rationale so the background material can be updated as scholarship and indigenous nomenclature evolve.

Trustees complimented the research and the draft's tone, and several emphasized that a land acknowledgment should reflect reconciling historic removal or displacement. Trustee discussion focused on the level of detail that should appear in the short statement versus the explanatory notes and on ensuring correct tribal names and sourcing before public use.

Trustee (mover not clearly identified) moved to table the item to allow trustees time to propose edits and for staff to coordinate revisions; another trustee seconded. Clerk Stenzel called the roll and recorded five ayes; the motion carried and adoption was tabled. The board asked staff to coordinate receipt of trustee edits and to return the item to a future agenda with proposed revisions and the commission's explanatory notes.