We stand here today to recognise the stewards of Coast Salish lands, the original and current caretakers: Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot. Our hands go up and recognition spreads. (First Nations at University of Washington land acknowledgement)
I acknowledge this website was created on homelands of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip, and Muckleshoot. I grew up, went to school, and regularly traversed the space which is now known as the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area. As I continue my educational journey in homelands of the Daḳota people at a Land-grab university¹, I recognise words are not enough and that constructive action more positively impacts awareness, reparations, and recognition². In my professional work as an academic anthropologist in training, this means leaning into disciplinary rupture and divestment from positivist research paradigms indicative of most traditional social science research. In my personal life, this means learning from and building community alongside Native and Indigenous community members³. I recognise that while I am a non-white settler with my own history and relationship to land and place, I remain committed to centering Black and Indigenous communities in my work.
Resources
- Lee, Robert and Tristan Ahtone, “Land-grab Universities,” https://www.hcn.org/issues/52.4/indigenous-affairs-education-land-grab-universities
- American Indian Student Commission, University of Washington, “So You Want to Talk about Land Acknowledgements?” https://www.instagram.com/p/CYpafj3P9Jj/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
- Čhaŋtémaza (Neil McKay) and Monica Siems McKay, “Where We Stand,” https://editions.lib.umn.edu/openrivers/article/where-we-stand/
Incognito Transit 