We take this opportunity to offer respectful recognition to the Native communities in our region, and to those who have stewarded this land throughout the generations. We recognize the continual displacement of Native people by the United States and are committed to work on dismantling the ongoing effects of this settler colonial legacy. Please join us in gratitude for ​the contributions Indigenous peoples have and continue to make to our community, country, and world.

Establishing a practice of acknowledgment can be a powerful first step toward correcting the stories and practices that erase indigenous people’s history and culture. Through this simple gesture, we move toward inviting and honoring the truth, and countering the “doctrine of discovery” that our country was falsely founded upon. 

Such statements become truly meaningful when coupled with authentic relationships and sustained commitment. Let us therefore consider how to move beyond words into programs and actions that fully embody a commitment to indigenous rights and cultural equity.