Land & Water Acknowledgement
This acknowledgment is not a disclaimer—it's a promise to continue listening, learning, and growing in accountability, particularly to those most impacted by systemic harm. I acknowledge the deep influence of Black and Brown traditions—particularly in healing, dance and embodiment—and the labor of women, femmes and BIPOC healers and visionaries whose bodies and art have been vessels of resistance and liberation.
As a white, non binary queer person from the Bible Belt, I carry in my body the practices of my ancestors ad those they were in relationship with as well as those brought by Christian settlers. My work is rooted in Appalachian folk tradition, where I was born and raised, shaped by the wisdom of the women and healers before me—including those whose names I do not know, and those whose power was hidden in plain sight. I honor the sacred convergence of movement, storytelling, nature, and intuitive knowing that has lived in my lineage for generations.
I lean on my Celtic and Appalachian roots that have gifted me a deep energetic knowing, connection with all living things and with my own intuition along with my expertise and training as a social worker.
I am fortunate to now live and work in what is colonially known as Bellingham, WA. Where the Lummi Nation and Nooksack Tribe are the original inhabitants of this land and the water around it. I recognize that I am here, along with other non native people, as a result of normalized colonization and genocide. The practices in mediation, connection, relationship building, and engagement with the land, which informs my holistic approach, is directly from the indigenous peoples in this country and around the world. It is important to deconstruct colonization, white supremacy and oppression of all types. One way to do this is by embracing mindfulness, authentic expression and embodiment. I am grateful to learn from my BIPOC neighbors.
You can read about the Lummi Nation & Nooksack Tribe joint efforts in protecting water rights in the basin. See how you can support these efforts and learn more:
For anyone who would like to know more about the native land around them, especially white folks, check out this link. Look through the history of where you live, the treaties that are honored or not and connect with native folks’ efforts in your area. Read books by BIPOC folks, follow them on social media, make space for their existence in your life to learn their stories and trace how your story is in relationship with theirs. Learn the names of the places you live and visit to begin to listen to untold stories around you.
As a licensed social worker, I acknowledge the complicated and often painful legacy of my profession. Social work, while rooted in care, has a long history of entanglement with white supremacy, colonization, carceral systems, and state-sanctioned harm. From the policing of families and Indigenous assimilation efforts, to the surveillance of poor, disabled, Black, and brown communities, the field has too often upheld systems it claims to disrupt. I continuously try to unlearn biases, take accountability when I cause harm with the goal of fumbling towards a more decolonized way of being.
I do not take this lightly. My work seeks to actively unlearn, interrupt, and reimagine what healing, care, and liberation can look like—outside the confines of oppressive frameworks.
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