Following its Juneteenth opening, the Obama Presidential Center is embracing a message tied to one of the modern left's most contentious ideas: that America was built on land "stolen" from Indians.During Thursday's dedication ceremony, Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett opened proceedings by acknowledging the American Indian tribes who originally inhabited the land where the center now stands.But the acknowledgment extends well beyond the opening ceremony.Just a few feet from the center's landmark museum tower and near the Obama statue, visitors encounter a permanent display titled "Acknowledging Indigenous Peoples' Land and Territory."OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL CENTER'S OPENING CEREMONY RIDICULED FOR 'LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT' BEFORE STAR-STUDDED SHOWComposite image showing Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarrett speaking during the Obama Presidential Center opening ceremony, the Center's museum tower and a permanent Indigenous land acknowledgment display located on the campus in Chicago.(Michael Dorgan/Fox News Digital; Fox Flight Team; Mustafa Hussain/Bloomberg via Getty)The sign states that the Obama Foundation acknowledges "the sovereign Indigenous peoples who have, since time immemorial, inhabited and stewarded the lands many of us call home."Another section of the sign states that "Indigenous peoples" have worked to "combat and rightfully reverse the forces of settler colonialism" and features a 2009 Obama quote reflecting on broken treaties, lost lands and the treatment of Native Americans."Treaties were violated.
Promises were broken," Obama said.Land acknowledgments have become common at universities, museums and public events, but critics often mock them as performative exercises associated with the view that America was built on "stolen land." Supporters argue they serve as an important recognition of the history of American Indians and their connection to the land.SUBCONTRACTORS SAY THEY’RE OWED MILLIONS, FACE FINANCIAL RUIN, AFTER HELPING BUILD OBAMA PRESIDENTIAL...