Indigenous Quad

Indian Quad is one of four original residential quads built on UAlbany’s Uptown Campus in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

The quad is home to about 1,200 first-year students in nine buildings named after Indigenous nations selected at the time with input from the New York State Museum.

The name Indian Quad has been used in connection with the quad since it was completed in 1971 and was part of a broader naming convention for the four original quads intended at the time to convey a progression through New York’s history.

The other three quads are Dutch Quad, Colonial Quad and State Quad.

In July 2020, campus leadership created the Indian Quad Work Group of students, faculty, staff and alumni to study the continued use of the term “Indian” in connection with our campus.

Following a thoughtful review, the work group concluded – and campus leadership agreed – that the continued use of the term to refer to the people who are Indigenous to what is now North America is at odds with UAlbany’s commitment to inclusivity and our goal to be the nation’s leading diverse public research institution.

We believe this change is especially important because this quad is home to first-year students for whom our University should set the strongest example of what our community values.

These names will change, too. The University is in the process of consulting with Indigenous communities on new names for these locations, and we hope to have more information on this to share with our community soon.

May 5, 2023 Update: Indian Pond and Indian Pond Lane have been renamed Parker Pond and Parker Pond Lane, respectively. View the University Council resolution renaming Indian Pond and Indian Pond Lane.

During the process of consulting members of Indigenous communities and other scholars, the work group learned that people – including members of some Indigenous communities – hold differing opinions about whether the term “Indian” is offensive.

Nevertheless, the work group concluded – and campus leadership agreed – that a lack of consensus on this point is not grounds for inaction and that our campus should set a higher bar than simply what may be acceptable.

We must strive with every action to make all members of our community feel more – not less – included in campus life. When viewed against that standard, and the fact that some do find the term “Indian” offensive, it was time for a change.

Indigenous cultures are extraordinarily diverse, and there is no one correct way to refer to them.

Many members of these communities prefer to be referred to by their nation or tribal name, and the nine buildings within Indigenous Quad will continue to carry those names: Adirondack, Cayuga, Mahican, Mohawk, Montauk, Oneida, Onondaga, Seneca and Tuscarora.

In selecting a new name for the collection of buildings, the University sought a term that is both respectful, timeless and, to the extent possible, does not define these cultures in relation to others with which they later came into contact.

The term Indigenous has both specific and general meaning referring to the first known inhabitants of an area.

In addition to the work group’s review of Indian Quad, campus leadership has directed the Office of Campus Planning to begin reviewing the names of other buildings in other quads and to make recommendations for changes, as necessary.

This process is complex and will take time, but it will also be transparent. Most important, the campus community will have an opportunity to be involved in this process, and we hope to have more information to share about this in the near future.

As President Rodríguez said in his note to the campus community, “As an institution of higher education, we must confront and learn from our history—in all its complexity.” This change allows us to do just that. The five decades of history on UAlbany’s Uptown Campus are not intrinsically linked to the name on any one building or group of buildings. Rather, our history is defined by our actions and our impact on our community.

We have no evidence that the University leaders who selected the name Indian Quad did so with malice or with the intent to cause harm. But as a public research institution committed to advancing knowledge and improving society, we must be able to recognize and learn from our mistakes.

This change is about the future and what our University aspires to be.

Yes. While changing the name on a building often garners the most attention, far more important are the steps the University will take to more meaningfully include Indigenous communities in the education, research, service and cultural life of our University.

The work group identified this outreach and engagement as a high priority, and the University will begin by drafting a land acknowledgment that properly recognizes the Indigenous people who lived on the land that UAlbany now calls home.

Led by the Office of Government & Community Relations in partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the University also will organize educational programming and install new signage to help our community learn more about the Indigenous people of what is now New York and to help dispel the notion perpetuated by the original quad naming convention that they exist only in the past.

Beyond that, the University is committed to sustained and reciprocal engagement with New York’s Indigenous communities. Any member of the UAlbany community interested in participating in this process is encouraged to contact the Office of Government & Community Relations at [email protected].