Territory Acknowledgement
I am writing from the forcibly ceded lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes, bands, and nations who made their homes and trading centers along Nch’i-wana (“The Big River”), whose ancestors and present-day peoples have cared for these lands, waters, and living beings since time immemorial, and for whom these lands, waters, and living beings are vital to their cultures, ceremonies, and traditions to this day. #LANDBACK
Portlanders: Pay rent to the Chinookan peoples.
Disability Justice is inherently tied to movements for Indigenous and Black Liberation because of its commitment to cross-movement organizing and Liberation for all people.
Settler-Colonial Acknowledgment
Settler colonizers and imperialists from Europe took the unceded lands where I live from the indigenous ancestors and present-day peoples who have stewarded land, water, and living beings since time immemorial. This land known as the United States of America and its colonial territories were and continue to be held by force. I call for and will work toward rematriation of colonized lands to First Nations/Native American/Indigenous peoples.
I honor the lives of all who endured, and continue to endure, in the face of settler-colonialism and white supremacy. I am in solidarity with all movements for liberation from supremacy culture.
(From collaborations with Calling Up Justice and The Curiosity Paradox.)
Call to Action
- What is your role in coming to be here?
- You may live on your own ancestral lands,
- You may be an occupier of lands whose original caretakers were given no choice in your existence there.
- Maybe you or your ancestors were forcibly moved or forcibly taken from your own ancestral lands.
Reflect and act on your responsibilities to Indigenous peoples given this information.