Thread by @highcountrynews

1/ One year ago, @highcountrynews published #LandGrabU - a two-year investigation that revealed how expropriated Indigenous land was turned into seed money for Land Grant Universities. hcne.ws/3bF1GZ9

2/ Here's how it worked: Passed in 1862, the #MorrillAct gave nearly 11 million acres of #publiclands to states to sell off to endow fledgling land-grant colleges. Those lands, of course, were not uninhabited.

3/ That land, acquired through broken treaties, illegal seizures and outright genocide, was transferred through the #MorrillAct from nearly 250 #Indigenous tribal nations to 52 institutions, including @UCLA, @Cornell and @MIT.

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT 4/ But those 11 million acres were broken up into 80,000 parcels scattered across 24 states. We were tasked with identifying every acre, every tribe and every university that profited – or still profits – from stolen land.

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT 5/ We were able to locate over 99% of all #MorrillAct acreage, identify original Indigenous caretakers, and name the universities that profited, and continue to profit, from stolen land - a transfer worth a half billion dollars when adjusted for inflation.

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT 6/ We wanted to make our data available to anybody who wanted to do additional reporting or research, or to even fact check our findings, so we made our entire investigation public. The raw data, including spatial files, on @GitHub. hcne.ws/39rGLdj

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github 7/ And through an interactive database that allows users to explore the story through #interactive maps, web pages and data visualization. hcne.ws/2XgsfQe

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github 8/ We also made our entire methodology available online for journalists and researchers to employ in their own investigations. hcne.ws/2UK6sxu

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github 9/ And we added a reading list to dive deeper. hcne.ws/2QQSZps

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github 10/ Since publication, #LandGrabU has inspired dozens of op-eds, blogs, podcasts and local news items. A full list available here: hcne.ws/3u6aRef

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github 11/ At @UF, @Cornell, @Yale & @MIT student governments and advocates demanded investigations, protested for racial justice, and petitioned for increased recruitment and funding for #Indigenous students disadvantaged by the Morrill Act. hcne.ws/3fvFJAK

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale 12/ College admissions stakeholders issued a policy brief demanding Native American students receive free tuition at land-grant universities. hcne.ws/3dfCBpY

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale 13/ This year, thousands of college students are reading the report in journalism, education, and liberal arts courses. @Mizzou even integrated it into the university’s prerequisite writing course.

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou 14/ At @Cornell, the largest Morrill Act beneficiary, faculty launched a project to document the university’s financial windfall. hcne.ws/2QGX1Av

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou 15/ Similar internal reviews are ramping up at @MIT and @UConn, which is developing an exhibition based on the data as part of a push for a new Cultural Center for Native & Indigenous Students. hcne.ws/3wbLJEB

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn 16/ At @OhioState researchers have partnered with @FNDI303 to draft a reconciliation plan that will benefit the tribal communities whose land seeded the school’s founding. @StephenMGavazzi
hcne.ws/39qF3IY

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi 17/ @WSUPullman has taken the lead in actually rewriting its land acknowledgment to incorporate the report’s findings, and pledged to commission a team to determine reconciliation plans.
hcne.ws/3fmyyLg

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi @WSUPullman 18/ @UCBerkeleyISSI convened a two-part virtual forum attended by more than 1,000 people to discuss how UC could be held accountable. hcne.ws/3wg637R

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi @WSUPullman @UCBerkeleyISSI 19/ Working groups at @ColoradoStateU, @UArizona, @UMNews, and others are likewise laying the groundwork for reforms tying their land-grant legacies to the needs of their #Indigenous students. hcne.ws/3u6Tlqb

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi @WSUPullman @UCBerkeleyISSI @ColoradoStateU @uarizona @UMNews 20/ For its most recent issue, @NAISA__ commissioned 12 response #essays reflecting on the implications of our investigation.
hcne.ws/3ftdd2W

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi @WSUPullman @UCBerkeleyISSI @ColoradoStateU @uarizona @UMNews @NAISA__ 21/ And the work continues. Our reporting revealed at least 16 Land Grant Universities in the West and Midwest, still retain more than a half-million acres of #MorrillAct lands bringing in $8.7 million in revenue in FY19 alone. hcne.ws/327iZ1A

@UCLA @Cornell @MIT @github @UF @Yale @Mizzou @UConn @OhioState @FNDI303 @StephenMGavazzi @WSUPullman @UCBerkeleyISSI @ColoradoStateU @uarizona @UMNews @NAISA__ 22/ We're proud of the work around #LandGrabU and the ongoing impact our investigation continues to have on the land grant system. We hope one year after publication, you'll take a moment to re-read and share this work.