Acknowledgement of the Original People of the Land

I acknowledge that I live and work on the traditional lands of the Multnomah, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Tumwater, Tualatin Kalapuya, Wasco, Molalla, Cowlitz and Watlala bands of the Chinook and many other tribes of the Columbia River basin.  These original people of the land were displaced and massacred by genocide and colonization.

​For more information, please visit ljist.com/featured/acknowledging-indigenous-people/

This acknowledgment is only an infant step in recognizing the unaddressed harm, and does not encompass any actionable step of moving forward.  It is my desire to open myself to this conversation and find what the remaining descendants of the native tribes would like for us to do.

It is my belief as an herbalist and healer that we can seek the solutions to so many of our modern problems through the ancient wisdom of native people.  The original tribes were brilliant and resourceful stewards of the land.  As life continues to careen so out-of-balance, I hope we can restore the tribes' stewardship.  So many issues we see today were prevented for thousands of years with their careful planning, wisdom and work.  We can reign in the destructive wildfires, restore fish populations, and bring healthy diversity back to the forests we took.  We can find solutions to common health ailments, according to regional issues and the solutions used by the native tribes in those areas.

We must be absolutely meticulous in our approach to such progress, however.  We must always acknowledge the tribes, and not take their wisdom and claim it under our own names in the white supremacist act of declaring "discovery".  May we restore balance, and always show great respect to these native tribes.

Sallie McKibben, LAc
​Owner of Belmont Acupuncture