"In any given moment we have two options:

to step forward into growth

or step back into safety"

- Abraham Maslow



This Petition has only 2 asks:



1. To give the land back, every inch of it, to the Traditional Cayuga Council of Chiefs and Clan Mothers, the Ten Cayuga Clan Families of the Haudenosaunee (people of the longhouse)
2. To KEEP Wells College a space of higher education.
No 1. is straightforward.
No 2. has more room for creativity, but in order for us to truly de-colonize our narrative and system of operating, those specific details MUST be made with the Cayuga leading the conversation. The details of who would pay for the operation if the college would be a stand alone non-profit or a satellite of another established institution if the name would remain or change entirely or be partially modified what curriculums and programs would be offered and emphasized and who would comprise the student body will all come to focus as this process continues to gain momentum.

If you want to add your voice, sign the petition! It's a way we can all participate!


Wells College the "Butterfly Version"





Ok, but what would Wells College actually
look like if we give the Land Back??



Great Question!

So far, here are some of the ideas that have been proposed!

See how similar they are??


If your vision isn't listed, sign the petition!

Join the conversation through ACTION!

This is finally a collaborative, inclusive, authentic process.



Non-Native creative input:



* adding major Native degree programs with Native scholars and professors and students


* re-focusing on women's studies and traditions


* continuing liberal arts focus


* possibly adding trades studies


* possibly adding homesteading studies



Native creative input:



* adding major Native degree programs with Native scholars and professors and students


* having a focus on women, to help support the protection / end of MMIW


* creating a museum space / interpretive center


* creating home base for Haudenosaunee National Men's & Women's Lacrosse teams, including training camps and programs



This has NEVER been done before!



There are many calls for Land Back from native communities throughout the world. There are a handful of examples where private land has been successfully given back, but New York has yet to give any land back without legal action.


Many people deeply feel this specific space is sacred.

There is an established settler history and an established native history.

We must learn how to share. We must cooperate and collaborate.

We must love our neighbors.


The success of this vision is ESSENTIAL for the success of the people of Cayuga County and New York State. As far as we know, there is no other college operating in collaboration with a native community ON land that has been given back,

meaning this would be a FIRST.

A first for Wells College.

A first for Cayuga County.
A first for New York State.


A first that can be added to the other "firsts" of social justice we cherish about our region, including efforts within the abolitionist movement and the Underground Railroad, Women's Rights and Suffragist cause and prison reform!

And "firsts" bring so many opportunities, socially and economically....


We can not flourish, until we heal.

We can not heal, until we make amends.

We can not make amends, until we acknowledge.

We can not acknowledge, until we truly open our hearts with intentions of love.


** "We" refers to we, the ship side of Two Row



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