A month ago, I attended the “Insider Lunch with Kathy Murray” alongside a first-year dominant audience that was excited to be in the same room as President Murray. The Q&A style luncheon atmosphere was bubbly for the most part. But I didn’t see bubbles. I only saw red flags when President Murray proudly presented the fifth strategic priority “Celebrating our Location.”  I uneasily hoped the reason she avoided mentioning Whitman’s history was because of the cheerful nature of the lunch and that the official school documents would surely acknowledge what happened to the Cayuse tribes.

Of course, I was mistaken.

One of the signs during the Indigenous People’s March on Columbus day that resonated with me read, “Respect our existence or expect our resistance.” The college website, mission statement, strategic priorities and President Murray’s “Whitman College loves Walla Walla community” piece in the Union Bulletin don’t show any respect. If Whitman doesn’t acknowledge its full history, we aren’t celebrating our location; we are abusing it.

I went to Whitman’s website and read the “History of the College” page that was filed under “Whitman Hallmarks.” It did mention the fact that “the Whitmans were killed by Indians,” but completely omitted how many Cayuse were killed by the diseases brought by the Whitmans.

On the other documents, the word “history” occasionally pops-up. Fully decorated with buzzwords, as one expects. I don’t think I would use the words “rich,” “complex” and “dynamic” to describe genocide. I understand the Whitman Massacre is only one part of the institution’s history, but it is the part that matters. The closest President Murray has gotten to even slightly hinting about this neglected part of history was in her letter to the local newspaper.

“Now that celebrating our location has been named one of our strategic priorities, we are looking for new and exciting ways to create opportunities to learn about our history — even the uncomfortable parts,” she wrote.

Uncomfortable? Uncomfortable! That’s a new word. Content warning: Reality might trigger your white unsettlement! Whitman and Walla Walla’s history is painful, infuriating and neglected — not uncomfortable.

Another part of her letter also needs to be pointed out.

“Our Eastern Washington location — with its dynamic history, diverse population and inspiring physical landscape — is a source of strength and pride for the college.”

How can we take pride and use our location as a source of strength, when the college repeatedly fails to make recognizing the Native Americans that suffered through the Whitman Mission a top priority?

Don’t get me wrong. Whitman is going through changes, some of which are positive. The college that made a memorandum agreement to the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to enhance Native American higher education opportunities. Our Encounters curriculum, mascot and newspaper name were changed in efforts to step in the right direction. However, I worry about how we can hold Whitman College accountable for these commitments if they aren’t a part of our mission statement, strategic priorities and other forms of representation of the college. Celebrating our location and declaring our love for Walla Walla is not a right — it is a privilege that we haven’t earned.