Mustafa Abdul Haque’s Land Acknowledgement

I acknowledge that the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, where I was born and raised, is situated on the traditional and ancestral lands of Indigenous peoples, including the Caddo (Ká:doh / Kadohadacho), Wichita peoples—notably the Tawakoni (Táwákoni) and Waco (Wáːku)—the Tonkawa (Tickanwa•tic), and, in later history, the Comanche (Nʉmʉnʉʉ).

These nations lived on, cared for, and were shaped by this land long before Texas or the United States existed. Their presence here was not symbolic or temporary—it was rooted, complex, and enduring. The displacement and violence they experienced as a result of colonization are foundational to the history of this region and continue to shape the present.

I share this acknowledgment as someone of South Asian descent, the child of immigrants who came to North Texas from other countries, and as someone who was nonetheless born into the benefits of living on this land. While my family did not participate in the earliest acts of colonization, my life here is still connected to histories of Indigenous dispossession that are often minimized or erased.

This acknowledgment is not meant to be a statement of ownership, absolution, or finality. It is an invitation—to myself and to others—to learn the true histories of this place, to listen to Indigenous voices today, and to resist narratives that flatten, sanitize, or overwrite the realities of colonization.

Land acknowledgment is only a beginning. Learning, accountability, and respect must follow.