Our Land Acknowledgement
As a family, we acknowledge that the land upon which our home was built is the homelands of the Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples.
We are stewards of a small space under the wide open skies of the lands now known as Colorado, a place sacred to generations who came before us and who live amongst us. We honor them, the people who stewarded this land before us.
We acknowledge the ongoing injustices that we have committed against the Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples.
In our stewardship of this land and in our life patterns, we seek to break the bonds of atrocity and injustice knowing that we have benefitted from the privilege of our own backgrounds.
We also seek to repair the damage done to this land and to encourage and equip others to do the same. Doing so is an act of repentance, of restoration, and of reparation for our family, and we strive to so do in mindful humilty.
Why do we write this Statement?
The land upon which we live, even here in a suburban development, has a sacred and powerful history. This plot was once wide-open prairie – but it was not empty. It was and continues to be part of the homelands of people who were not fairly treated or justly compensated for it. The histories of the Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ, hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), and Núu-agha-tʉvʉ-pʉ̱ (Ute) peoples are not to be ignored. They cared for this land and the flora and fauna that lived here since the beginning of time. Our own history on this land is very short, but we, too, must be stewards of this place – and we must acknowledge that our stewardship is as a result of a legacy of violence, colonization, deception, and genocide. As part of our own radical reckoning with the history of the United States and the abuses perpetrated by our government and the individuals of our country, we seek mindfulness, humility, reflection, and truth.
To learn more about the lands upon which you live and the history of the Native American peoples, here are just a few excellent resources: