With gratitude and respect I acknowledge the land I live and work on is stolen land, the ancestral homeland of the Nooksack and Lummi people whose systems of Self-Governance, Autonomy, Ecology, and Social and Economic practices precede colonial exploitation of the American Continents. Indigenous culture offers respect to the land, river, and ocean with the understanding that everything is connected and related and alive. We also acknowledge the elders with respect to their collective and individual plights and achievements. Please consider the legacies of violence, displacement, migration, and settlement that bring us together today. Acknowledgement is a beginning that invites us to delve deeper, uncover truths and inspire ongoing action. The intention is to build deeper relationships and grow together so all may prosper.