DEAR EDITOR:

Genealogically, my maternal and paternal arrivals to the United States occurred in 1913 and 1921, respectively. Long before my family’s presence on this continent, the work of establishing our nation was done. And what a nation it is! Cue the chorus! Strike up the band! Wrap yourself up with red, white and blue pageantry! Go ahead, indulge your parochial selves, but temper that jingoistic joy with at least a glance at reality.

Our history has many voices, many perspectives. It most certainly should include the honest recognition that our country was founded and formed by too many consequentially destructive, wealthy conmen and butchers, who brought forth the Star of American Progress on the backs and property of conquered people. Not that this playbill wasn’t on stage throughout the world. It is only here, in the good old USA, where habits of hubris and exceptionalism are embarrassingly ever-present.

The truth of our American heritage is not a matter of perspective or opinion. There can be no doubt about how genocide and slavery enabled the creation of what we now are; a place that, figuratively, yields blood in the topsoil of our public discourse, should one choose to honestly probe our past and our present national character.

It is with this truth in mind that I attempt to take some responsibility, to offer a personal “land acknowledgment” in honor of Indigenous Peoples Day. Whether your ancestors came on the Mayflower or you’re still unpacking from your arrival yesterday, you may want to consider the following in your own context:

I am a resident who occupies the ancestral, traditional and contemporary lands of others. I am a settler of Polish and Slovak descent living and working as an uninvited intergenerational guest on the lands of the Erie people and pre-contact Paleo-Indians.

Today’s inhabitants of the Mahoning Valley, whatever their ancestral origins, enjoy the natural and derived bounty from land that was the indigenous home of many villages, tribes and nations, each enjoying the richness of their languages and cultures. For centuries, sovereign peoples inhabited these lands as all human communities do — sometimes at peace, sometimes at war.

Today, I recognize that for several millennia these indigenous people conducted their lives without the intrusion of grossly alien beliefs and practices — those destructive forces that eventually would come to these shores. I acknowledge today that the land which I call home was not willingly ceded, but forcibly occupied and seized by means that were largely disingenuous and violent.

I respect the need and right of current indigenous descendants to celebrate their traditions in the Mahoning Valley, and I encourage an informed citizenry to make space for a more comprehensive, equitable and shared program of intercultural understanding.

TIM SEMAN

Youngstown