Statement on Land Acknowledgement and Equity

Collaborative Resilience Counseling recognizes that people can be impacted by individual, historical, and systemic trauma and that to address this, we must go beyond providing individual and group therapy. This Land Acknowledgement and Equity Statement and the commitment to action are small steps on this journey. 

 

Land Acknowledgement

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Throughout my life, I have lived on the traditional homelands of the Alaskan Native people, the tribes of Northern California, Southwestern tribes, and currently, the homeland of the Puyallup and Coast Salish tribes. Each one of these tribes and communities have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time and continue to do so today. Each one of these tribes and communities have also experienced genocide, forced removal, and had their land stolen. Additionally, it is important to recognize that my ownership of land has meant that I have benefited from this history - both their stewardship of the land, and the genocide, and forced removal.

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Like other indigenous people, the Puyallup and Coast Salish people are alive and strong, engaged in their communities and the land, and are not just in history books.

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I recognize that this land acknowledgment is only one small step toward true allyship, and I am committed to standing with the Puyallup Tribe as well as other indigenous groups to protect their land and culture and to actively work to make sure their voices, experiences, knowledge, and histories are heard and respected.

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For me, part of respecting and honoring indigenous people is also recognizing that we all have a responsibility and relationship to this land and this earth. As such, part of my commitment is to learn to become a better caretaker and steward of the land I engage with, such as planting native plants and learning other ways to actively and respectively care for this earth.

 

Since I work and live on the traditional lands of indigenous tribes and communities taken by force and coercion, I also contribute regularly to tribal programs as a small step towards the reparations indigenous and native people are owed.

Learn more about the Puyallup Tribe and Land acknowledgment HERE

Learn which indigenous lands you live on HERE

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Land acknowledgement in the Twulshootseed language and English:

ʔuk’ʷədiid čəł ʔuhigʷəd txʷəl tiiɫ ʔa čəɫ ʔal tə swatxʷixʷtxʷəd ʔə tiiɫ puyaləpabš. ʔa ti dxʷʔa ti swatxʷixʷtxʷəd ʔə tiiɫ puyaləpabš ʔəsɫaɫaɫlil tul’al tudiʔ tuhaʔkʷ. didiʔɫ ʔa həlgʷəʔ ʔal ti sləx̌il. dxʷəsɫaɫlils həlgʷəʔ gʷəl ƛ’uyayus həlgʷəʔ gʷəl ƛ’uƛ’ax̌ʷad həlgʷəʔ tiiɫ bədədəʔs gʷəl tix̌dxʷ həlgʷəʔ tiił ʔiišəds həlgʷəʔ gʷəl ƛ’uʔalalus həlgʷəʔ gʷəl ƛ’utxʷəlšucidəb. x̌ʷəla···b ʔə tiiɫ tuyəl’yəlabs.

We gratefully honor and acknowledge that we rest on the traditional lands of the Puyallup People. The Puyallup people have lived on this land since the beginning of time. They are still here today. They live, work, raise their children, take care of their community, practice their traditional ways and speak the Twulshootseed language – just as their ancestors did.

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