my why — Sonya Gracey

Central to my practice and life is the acknowledgment that I am living on and benefiting, personally and professionally, from unceded, unsurrendered / stolen Indigenous homelands of Songhees (Ləkʷəŋən) and Esquimalt (Xwepsum) peoples. My presence and activity here on these lands directly and indirectly contributes to the violence of occupation and continues to interfere with Indigenous sovereignty and wellness. As a european white bodied settler I will not deny the ongoing structural and systemic violence of racism and colonialism that creates widespread and ongoing inequities for Indigenous, black and brown bodies (the global majority) here on Turtle Island, and globally in the name of ‘progress’ (aka wealth accumulation) for white bodies.

I challenge myself to stay in humility with the discomfort and vulnerability of critical self reflection and to intentionally deconstructing the false ideas and identities I carry created through normative socialization that disconnect me from my own and others humanity and perpetuates ongoing collective harm.

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 to the work of truth telling, relationship, reparation, wealth/power redistribution 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/)‍ ‍