land acknowledgement

Acknowledging the land is a transformative act that works to undo the intentional erasure of Indigenous peoples and is the first step in decolonizing land relations (California Indian Culture & Sovereignty Center).

I am a settler on occupied, unceded Kumeyaay Land. Please join me in acknowledging the legacy of the Kumeyaay (adapted from Mike Connolly Miskwish).

For millennia, the Kumeyaay people have been a part of this land. This land has nourished, healed, protected and embraced them for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. We acknowledge this legacy. We find inspiration from this land; the land of the Kumeyaay.

We recognize the key figures and organizations committed to providing and advancing LGBTQIA2S+ services for Indigenous peoples including the San Diego American Indian Health Center, the Breaking Down Barriers program, and The National American Indian & Alaska Native Addiction Technology Transfer Center Network (ATTC). The ATTC is responsible for developing Native American LGBTQ/Two Spirit curriculum, which was pilot tested on Kumeyaay lands. We express gratitude to the work of Karen Vigneault, a lesbian Native American activist and member of the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, who has educated folks within and outside indigenous communities about Two Spirit or Twin-Spirit peoples role in Kumeyaay traditions (Women's Museum of California 2018).

We recognize that acknowledgement is just a start and empty without further action. Please take the time to explore, learn, unlearn, and contribute to the legacy of the Kumeyaay and Two-Spirit peoples, and prioritize the decolonization of your thoughts, minds, and actions.

Kumeyaay Information and History

Accomplices Not Allies: Abolishing the Ally Industrial Complex

California Land Acknowledgement Toolkit

Decolonizing San Diego's History

Indigenous Ally Toolkit

Native Land Digital Map

Karen Vigneault, Native Scholar, Activist of the Iiapay Nation

Indigenous Mutual Aid

Bay Area American Indian Two-Spirits (BAAITS)

The Front Art Center - Our Ancestor's Dream Kumeyaay Exhibition

Barona Cultural Center and Museum