I acknowledge that I am living on and benefiting, personally and professionally, from unceded, unsurrendered / stolen Indigenous homelands of Songhees (Ləkʷəŋən) and Esquimalt (Xwepsum) peoples. I also acknowledge the ancestral and current day diversity and relationships that exist on the homelands of the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish nations (and across all of Turtle Island). Since time out of mind, and today these families have distinct and deep connections to lands, waters and forests. Everyday I think about how I am directly and indirectly contributing to the violence of occupation, and consider how my presence and activity here on this land continues to interfere with Indigenous sovereignty and wellness. As a european white settler I acknowledge the ongoing structural and systemic violence of racism and colonialism that creates widespread and ongoing inequities. Through critical self reflection, the deconstruction of my assumed identities, and the intentional exampination of the gaps and bias created through my socialization I commit to continually challenge myself to stay in humility with the discomfort of vulnerability that leads the way.

I am committed to the continual process of unlearning and healing harmful, predictable colonial patterns in my self, my family and my greater community and in growing collective accountability amongst white settlers to the work of truth telling, relationship, reparation and repair.

I actively endeavor to embody this acknowledgement in my daily life and practice. (to learn more about whose lands you are on visit: https://native-land.ca/)

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Canadian Art Therapist Association Professional Membership Number: 77473420

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