“Where common memory is lacking, where people do not share in the same past, there can be no real community. Where community is to be formed, common memory must be created.”
Georges Erasmus, Dene Nation leader
We begin many of our virtual programs with this quote. The words of Georges Erasmus offer us a guiding principle that propels our land acknowledgment beyond a mere formality. It is the intention of our organization to remember where we have been so that we can know where we are going.
Sankofa Impact acknowledges that the city of Seattle and its greenspaces are on stolen Coast Salish land, specifically the ancestral land of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Stillaguamish, and Muckleshoot Tribes. We recognize the stewardship of Seattle’s greenspaces by the Coast Salish people since time immemorial and endeavor to continue this work.
We make this acknowledgment to remind ourselves that we must strive to remedy this injustice through our beliefs and actions in helping to steward our green spaces and communities in Seattle.
If you are elsewhere, we encourage folks to find out what land you are on the Native Land app.
Real Rent calls on people who live and work in Seattle to make rent payments to the Duwamish Tribe. Though the city named for the Duwamish leader Chief Seattle thrives, the Tribe has yet to be justly compensated for their land, resources, and livelihood. Please make a gift here by clicking this link.
