Our Mission
The Raptor Center's mission is to ensure the health of raptors and the world we share.
Our specialized hospital admits around 1,000 birds of prey each year - our goal is to rehabilitate and release them back to the wild.
We also train future generations of veterinarians and wildlife rehabilitators, conduct ground-breaking research on raptors and the environment, and educate and inspire thousands of people each year through our unique educational programming.
There are many ways you can join in our mission to help raptors and our shared environment.
Learn more about The Raptor Center:
The Raptor Center's land acknowledgement
Learn about the Dakota land on which The Raptor Center resides
The Raptor Center, and all of the University of Minnesota in both Minneapolis and St. Paul, resides on Dakota land. We recommend reading the Treaties of 1837 and 1851 that ceded this land to learn more about our history. Mni Sota Makoce (Minnesota) is the homeland of the Dakota people who have lived here for thousands of years and continue to reside in this state. Indigenous people from other Tribal nations, including the Anishinaabe, also live in Minnesota.
We make this acknowledgement to show respect for the land and its original and contemporary inhabitants, and to take the first step in correcting the erasure of Indigenous culture. We recognize that colonization is an ongoing process and that we benefit from occupying land stolen through broken treaties, colonization, and genocide.
A statement alone is not enough and can only be a beginning. We must strive to honor the true history of our land while also lifting up the voices of the many Indigenous peoples living here now, in what is their land.
Additional reading:
Learn more about treaties and land theft in Minnesota: Why Treaties Matter
Learn more about land acknowledgements: A Guide to Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
