An Ancestor Acknowledgement's purpose is to center Native and Indigenous voices and their knowledge as we learn from them. Some or most of the Ancestors we highlight are still alive, this is to show that what they know and share,  comes from generations of learning and teaching and live on today.

“I’m Karen Ann Hoffman, a Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Raised Beadworker from the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. I’m the student of Samuel Thomas and the late Lorna Hill. When I’m sewing I hear whispers, old beaders from long ago, encouraging me, “keep this up, do this well.” This work stands not for me, but for all those who came before us and all whose faces we have yet to see.”

 Karen Ann Hoffman talks about being a "student of Samuel Thomas and Lorna Hill," the people who taught her Raised Beadwork. Are there any people or ancestors in your life that you've learned something from? Think of friends, family, community members, teachers, or other people in your life you may have learned from. 

Standards for Ancestor Acknowledgement

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework