Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Full Spectrum Therapy is headquartered on the land of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla First Nations.

As a result, we continue to occupy the land and commit to exploring our place in this occupation as well as its history. We would like to recognize the indigenous lives lost on this land and the continued fight for sovereignty for the tribes of our region and all indigenous people.

This is an acknowledgement of the history and first people of this land. We pay recognition to those who nurtured and honored the lands; and who today nurture and honor the lands. We also recognize the colonial dispossession, occupation and theft of the land, and the systematic genocide of people from this land.

We recognize the marginalization and systematic oppression that continues against the first people of this land. We recognize both the blood that has been spilled and those who have survived. We honor their survival, vibrance and power. 

In solidarity against occupation, colonization and the injustices inflicted on indigenous people, we acknowledge that to end systematic and institutional violence, we must center the narratives of indigenous peoples in our quest for dignity and justice. Those among us who are not native or indigenous to Turtle Island, especially those who are settlers, or of settler descent, directly benefit from occupation, colonization, and the ongoing genocide of the indigenous people of this land. Settlers also directly benefit from the kidnapping and forced labor of indigenous peoples from Turtle Island and other places in the world.

We recognize that some who came, came not by choice; but as part of a systematic, genocidal system that continues to this day; arriving shackled by the ancestors of some among us, and the ancestors of many across this land. 

We also recognize the injustices of slavery, forced migration and indentured labor, past and ongoing.
There can be no reconciliation without conciliation and there can be no conciliation without reparations. Reparations are an obligation, not a guarantee of forgiveness, conciliation, or a relationship. Only through deep and sacred work do these become possibilities. No stated recognition, nor any gesture, absolves us of our continued responsibility.

We would also like to pay respects to elders past and present, and in particular to indigenous elders who may be here with us today, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. We would also like to uplift and acknowledge indigenous communities and peoples who remain, and commit to uplifting their work, and acting in service to them whenever welcome and possible.

Finally, we recognize in all these struggles the realities of the oppressed and the exploited, and the spirits and presence of the ancestors.