LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Immense thanks to Iron Path Farms for their assistance on the following text. Click here to support them.
We recognize that this land acknowledgment is just a first step in a long process towards relationship building with Native folks. It was written by allies. As we build these relationships, we will update the land acknowledgement accordingly to reflect the thousands of years long relationships that these stewards share with these lands and waters. If you would like to contribute or collaborate, please contact us.
The Hudson Valley is part of the Eastern Door, shared ancestral territory of Mohican, Lenape, Stockbridge Munsee, Algonquin and Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora). We begin building relationships with and between these communities by continually paying our respects to their Elders- past, present, and future. We recognize and advocate for their continued existence, their environmental priorities, and their ongoing contributions to the Hudson Valley ecosystem. Not all, but many of these Nations and communities have been displaced, yet their cultures are alive and thriving. Many seek to reconnect with their ancestral homelands, which they cared for and stewarded for thousands of years.
The environmental degradation, industrialization, and subsequent warming of Turtle Island (currently known as United States, Canada, and Mexico) is a result of the attempted genocide and colonization of Indigenous people and land by white settlers, the enslavement of African people and their descendants, and the ongoing exploitation of people of color. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and other marginalized groups are now disproportionately experiencing the consequences of climate change more than others, and are also leaders of the environmental movement. Any delay in achieving social justice is a delay in achieving climate and environmental justice. To fight climate chaos we need to uplift and center the sovereignty, environmental priorities, traditional ecological knowledge and solutions of Native nations, while simultaneously advocating for LANDBACK and reparations.
We recognize that this land acknowledgment is just a first step in a long process towards relationship building with Native folks. It was written by allies. As we build these relationships, we will update the land acknowledgement accordingly to reflect the thousands of years long relationships that these stewards share with these lands and waters. If you would like to contribute or collaborate, please contact us.
The Hudson Valley is part of the Eastern Door, shared ancestral territory of Mohican, Lenape, Stockbridge Munsee, Algonquin and Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora). We begin building relationships with and between these communities by continually paying our respects to their Elders- past, present, and future. We recognize and advocate for their continued existence, their environmental priorities, and their ongoing contributions to the Hudson Valley ecosystem. Not all, but many of these Nations and communities have been displaced, yet their cultures are alive and thriving. Many seek to reconnect with their ancestral homelands, which they cared for and stewarded for thousands of years.
The environmental degradation, industrialization, and subsequent warming of Turtle Island (currently known as United States, Canada, and Mexico) is a result of the attempted genocide and colonization of Indigenous people and land by white settlers, the enslavement of African people and their descendants, and the ongoing exploitation of people of color. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color and other marginalized groups are now disproportionately experiencing the consequences of climate change more than others, and are also leaders of the environmental movement. Any delay in achieving social justice is a delay in achieving climate and environmental justice. To fight climate chaos we need to uplift and center the sovereignty, environmental priorities, traditional ecological knowledge and solutions of Native nations, while simultaneously advocating for LANDBACK and reparations.
Did you know? Native tribes had a name for the river long before Henry Hudson's arrival. One of their names- Mahicannituck- means "great waters in constant motion" or, more loosely, "river that flows two ways." It highlights the fact that this waterway is more than a river- it is a tidal estuary or an arm of the sea where salty sea water meets fresh water running off the land.
Click here for an article and audio interview with local Indigenous elder, Evan Pritchard, "Then and Now: Native Americans in the Highlands"
At this time, no one on our core team owns land or property, but we are firm believers in Land Back and deeply encourage anyone passing through this webpage to please consider what it can look like to return any land or property you may own back into the hands of the land's original stewards. Our longevity depends on this and our collective well being is there to be gained.
organize - recognize - celebrate!
