WE ARE ON INDIGENOUS LAND.

“This we know; The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth. This we know, all things are connected like the blood which unites one family.  All things are connected.”

 – Chief Si’ahl, Namesake of the City of Seattle

Land acknowledgment is a traditional custom that dates back centuries where Indigenous Peoples have acknowledged one another’s lands. We also understand it today as a transformative act of reconciliation meant to confront our place on Indigenous lands, and to build mindfulness of past and present atrocities perpetrated on Indigenous Peoples and our present participation in colonial legacies; a small and important step towards advancing a culture of respect, truth, and accountability. We acknowledge the enduring presence and deep traditional knowledge, laws, cultures, philosophies, contributions, and vibrant communities of Indigenous Peoples. We offer this acknowledgement as one of many needed acts of reconciliation between Indigenous and non- Indigenous Peoples.

RDH acknowledges that its North American offices are on the Indigenous lands and traditional territories, ceded and unceded, of Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these lands for more than 10,000 years, and for hundreds of generations. We also recognize the urban Indigenous people from across the continent who presently call today’s cities home. We take this opportunity to thank the original caretakers of this land, a People who continue to honor and bring light to their ancient heritage. We honor and extend our respect to all Indigenous Peoples, their elders and ancestors. We acknowledge the resiliency of the peoples and cultures that were here before contact with settlers, and who are still here today. We are grateful to have the opportunity to live, play and work here.

We are on land that is the traditional territory of the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc Peoples (Boston); the unceded traditional territory of the K’ómoks First Nation (Courtenay); the unceded territory of the Chochenyo Ohlone People (Oakland); the traditional village sites of the Multnomah,  Kathlamet, Clackamas, Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes and bands (Portland); the traditional lands of the Coast Salish People, which includes the Duwamish (Seattle); the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples (Toronto); the unceded traditional territories of Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Peoples,  all of whom descend from the Coast Salish (Vancouver); the traditional territory of the Lekwungen People, also known as the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations (Victoria); the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee (also known as Six Nations – Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga, Mohawk, Seneca, Tuscarora  –  and Iroquois) and the Anishinaabe Peoples (also known as Ojibway/Chippewa/Mississauga/Algonquin), and the Neutral Peoples (Waterloo).