Honoring the Land, Honoring the People

For over 30 years, creating connections between people, land, water, and wildlife has been core to the Land Trust’s mission.

This charge makes the greater Rochester region a place that people love — with hiking trails, family farms, natural habitats, and clean & healthy waterways.

As the Land Trust continues this community-centered work, serving all who call this region home, we’re proud to share our first Land Acknowledgement. This statement is an important step in our commitment to learning, building relationships, and discovering our role with Indigenous communities of the past, present, and future.

Over the last several years, Genesee Land Trust has been connecting with Indigenous communities, supporting Rochester’s Indigenous People’s Day, and collaborating to celebrate the traditions and contributions of Indigenous peoples in our region.

In 2025, the Land Trust partnered with Seneca Scientific Solutions+, an Indigenous-led health and research organization, to craft this statement. They helped us to take a deeper look into the history of Indigenous people, including the Haudenosaunee, who are the original caretakers of the region Genesee Land Trust works in.

In 2026, the Land Trust is delving deeper into this work — learning the histories of conservation lands, supporting the Indigenous peoples of our community, and developing new interpretive signs, programs, and projects throughout the lands we care for. We invite you to connect with this work, explore more resources, and get involved by visiting

In 2025, the Land Trust partnered with Seneca Scientific Solutions+, an Indigenous-led health and research organization, to craft this statement. They helped us to take a deeper look into the history of Indigenous people, including the Haudenosaunee, wo are the original caretakers of the region Genesee Land Trust works in.

In 2026, the Land Trust is delving deeper into this work — learning the histories of conservation lands, supporting the Indigenous peoples of our community, and developing new interpretive signs, programs, and projects throughout the lands we care for. We invite you to connect with this work, explore more resources, and get involved by visiting the link below:

Land Acknowledgement

Genesee Land Trust is located within the homeland of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, specifically the Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) Nation(s) and Gayogo̱hó:nǫʼ (Cayuga) Nation.

We acknowledge the ongoing impacts of colonization, dispossession, genocide, and forced displacement of Haudenosaunee peoples that disrupted thousands of years of stewardship of land and water.

Genesee Land Trust honors all Indigenous peoples who call this region home. We celebrate their knowledge, cultures, heritage, and ongoing contributions to our shared community. We are grateful for their continued care of this land we all occupy.

This land acknowledgment marks a new beginning for Genesee Land Trust.

We are committed to listening, learning, and working together in partnership with Indigenous communities towards a more equitable future, and pledge to uphold the principles of respect, reciprocity, and justice in our conservation effort.

We invite you to join us in this shared responsibility.