In February 2022, the Land Acknowledgment Working Group delivered five recommendations based on a review of the history of the land on which Brown is situated and the original relationship of the Indigenous people to this land. The University established its land acknowledgment among five new commitments based on the initial recommendations.

The Land Acknowledgment Working Group shared its recommendations with this preface:

“The Land Acknowledgment Working Group was charged with developing recommendations for what ‘land acknowledgment’ means for Brown University in the context of its relationship to Native and Indigenous peoples and lands. We have undertaken this work with purpose and respect, and over the past year have conducted research, reviewed models from peer institutions, read history, followed national-level conversations about this topic, and listened carefully to each other. In addition, we had the distinct privilege of accepting an invitation to visit the reservation of the Narragansett Indian Tribe in Charlestown, Rhode Island, where we spent an afternoon learning from Narragansett Tribal Medicine Man and Historic Preservation Officer John B. Brown, III. Mr. Brown told us to ‘follow the history and you can’t go wrong.’ We have endeavored to do so in the set of recommendations that follow.”