Warm Greetings Relatives

Bear Roots Resource Center would like to invite you to participate in our Land Acknowledgement.  At this time, we would like to honor our Creator, and all living things above, below, and all around us in 4 directions.  We acknowledge the harmful global impact of Colonialism from the Past and is currently happening in the Present moment.  We dedicate our life work to dismantling broken systems and restoring balance in our local and global communities; through advocacy and collaborating with world leaders to impact policy work for Indigenous and Black Sovereign Nations.  We advocate to reclaim their inherit rights so they can be acknowledged for their rich cultural contributions, innovation and roots that connect them with their Ancestral ties to their Natural resources to the Land, and empower them to realize self-determination, self-governance and self-reliance.  We want to bring awareness of the harmful injustices that Colonialism intentionally cause, which include to Eco-cide, Femicide, Gender inequality and Genocide.  We can now measure the destruction that shows a direct correlation between significant loss of land and people, and we need to unite to ensure our survival.   

Regardless of our personal beliefs, at our core, many of us can agree that there is something beyond ourselves and we are all connected.  In this unique, yet common understanding, I urge you to be open to the possibility of a collective healing that will transform our futures. Our common ground is our deep connection to Land, our Universal life force and our individual hearts and minds are capable of shaping and shifting our priorities to overcome many of our challenges.  However, we will need to leave what we think we know to the side while we reconnect to our cultural traditions, with each other, and collaborate to find solutions to improve our community together.  

We ask that you take a moment to pause and reflect.  Please find a comfortable space where you feel safe, preferably outside to be enjoying nature.  Take a few breaths and count to ten, then repeat 3 times or until you feel relaxed.  We hope you are feeling more centered and grounded.  If you are able to, sit on the ground and close your eyes.  As you sit, try to listen and observe what you sense around you.  Consider what emotional or spiritual connection you feel where you are or try to remember a place that is special to you, perhaps where your family is from and your Ancestors are connected to the land.  Whose Land are you on and are active in community together?  What ways can you be respectful to the Land you are a guest of?  Will you share this knowledge with others in your circle of friends, family and community members?  The heartbeat you feel is the same pulse that Mother Earth vibrates, and we experience when we go outside and experience nature trails, forests, mountains, streams, rivers, at the beach to enjoy the waves of the ocean, or even in your own back yard or patio, etc.  

It is important to know that a small percentage of the World population is responsible for harmful effects of Colonialism, Imperialism and Capitalism.  Many social justice issues intersect with environmental justice issues, and there are many advocating to impact policies and take direct action to prevent further harm.  Watching these injustices happen over and over again can often feel overwhelming, and if it is not happening locally, then it might seem like it does not need our attention or be any of our concern.  However, I urge you to go outside of what is familiar and expand your circle, and consider that we are all interconnected, and this is where the phrase "All our relations," comes from.  In many ways, whatever harm comes to one person or place, that is essentially harming ourselves and our loved ones.  Here is where we better understand our deep connection to land and how it also relates to our deep connection to one another, and this is the key to our survival.  Yes, "love" is the answer, and although this may sound like a song verse to ignore and dismiss, it is the foundation we need to work together. Let's begin to shape, shift, and transform our future through individual intentional actions,  and work toward a common goal to make a positive impact.  Because YOU are alive, anything is possible!

Let us lift our heads up high and gather together, imagine that we are all in a circle and that we are united with our Ancestors.  At this time, we would like to honor our Creator, and all living things above, below, and all around us in 4 directions.   Let us sing loudly to honor those who came before us and the sacrifices that they made to protect our Mother Earth, and held space to preserve cultural traditions, language, food and to have faith that future generations would survive.  I believe that they instinctively knew we would be ready to pick up where they left off so we could continue to build on the legacy they left behind for us.  It is beautiful to see a shift taking place, and the seeds that were planted generations ago are waking up to grow in each of us.  We have to develop our purpose so we can ensure our future 7 generations will thrive.  This is the time we must unite all our relations to join in our efforts.  The time is upon us now and we must take action that is rooted in love to overcome these present challenges.  We need to prepare and actively protect all that is sacred which will ultimately end all destructive patterns so we can return balance and peace.

In order to move forward, we must heal our past, each of us as individuals and collectively as a global community.  Let us also acknowledge the deeply painful loss of life that occurred historically.  Colonization killed 90% of the Indigenous Population, and  it is estimated that there were 500 million Indigenous people worldwide prior to European contact, and by the 1600s there were less than 6 million people.  When the ships of Europeans arrived, many were deathly ill and later this became a part of the germ warfare as a tactic to attempt to wipe out Indigenous populations. The American Holocaust accounts for between 70 to 100 Million Indigenous lives lost by forcibly removing, kidnapping children, raping women, separating families, enslaving, experimenting, torturing and murdering.  War strategies included wiping out traditional food was a weapon of chemical warfare. The Federal government broke treaties, stole land, created policies to remove and relocate Indigenous people to Reservations that often times was not their Ancestral land. In California, during the Spanish invasion, a Mission system was created that included 21 Missions along the De Anza Trail known as "El Camino Real" that stretched over 600 miles and continued South into Mexico, and East to Texas.  Churches took children to Indian Boarding Schools in Canada and throughout the U.S., with a "Mission" to strip them of their cultural traditions and many did not survive, many of these schools remained open until 1995.  

You may be interested to know that 80% of worlds biodiversity is protected by Indigenous people and much of sacred sites, ecologically significant locations that are at risk are located on Indigenous Ancestral land. From a global perspective, Indigenous people account for 370 million people today; which accounts for 6% of the world population, and live in 70 countries worldwide.  There are an estimated 7 million Native Americans living in the U.S. today, which accounts for 2% of the population .  There are currently 574 Federally Recognized independent Sovereign Native American Nations, which doesn't reflect the total Present-day Indigenous population, as there are many tribes that are not Federally Recognized as a result of blood quantum, illegal natural resource extraction and other politics that are modern forms of genocide .  It is important to know that genocide is not something that only occurred in the Past and it is unfortunately still happening today as a direct result of impacts caused by Colonialism and Imperialism.  

We want to take a moment to honor the Arawak and Cacique Taino of the Caribbean; who first discovered a lost sea navigator, who many may know as Christopher Columbus.  We want to honor Anacaona, a respected Cacique Taino Chief and Warrior from Ayiti (Haiti), who negotiated terms with European invaders and fiercely protected her people.   We want to shift the narrative and acknowledge that there were extensive trade routes across Turtle Island (Americas) and between other Nations prior to Europeans claiming to discover Ayiti (Haiti), the greater Antilles, the Caribbean Islands and later justifying the Doctrine of Discovery and the Westward Expansion.  It is understood that around 6,000 years ago Indigenous people traveled between South America and the Caribbean.  We acknowledge Indigenous relatives used Polynesian Wayfinding, which was used for thousands of years to navigate between Pacific Islands and over long distance courses through ocean and sea travel.  Chinese and Filipino sailors were among the first Asian explorers to land on American soil and trade goods.  There are notable Black Explorers who navigated the Ocean 180 years before Europeans, and ironically they still believed the Earth was flat.   We know that Indigenous Ancestors had ingenuity and innovative technology before Science could catch up and confirm their knowledge.     

We are thankful for all Nations wisdom keepers and culture bearers, Past, Present and Future. There are many Indigenous warriors who had the courage to fight and protect our future lives.  We would like to acknowledge a few, but please understand that this is not a complete list, and it is not in any order of significance, as every achievement is equally important.   We thank Chief Joseph, Chief Seattle, Sitting Bull, Sarah Winnemucca,  Geronimo, Lozen, Dahteste, Crazy Horse, Moving Robe Woman, Maria Tallchief, Sacagawea, Jim Thorpe, Dennis Banks, Russell Means, Richard Oakes, Wilma Mankiller, Dr. LaNada War Jack, Elizabeth Peratrovich, Susan La Flesche Picotte, Ladonna Harris, John Trudell, Amazon Chief Raoni Metuktire, Brazil's First Minister of Indigenous People, Sônia Guajajara,  the Great Peacemaker Deganawidasix, Hiawatha, Kateri, and Seneca Chief and Lacrosse Player, Oren Lyons, Guainía Taíno Chief, Roberto Múkaro Borrero, Deb Haaland, Sharice Davis, Tribal Chair of Conferated Villages of Lisjan and Co-Founder of Sogorea Te,  Corrina Gould, and the Winnemem Wintu Chief and Spiritual Leader, Caleen Sisk, and many more!  We thank Haudenosaunee Nations for their diplomacy guidance and influence on Democracy.  We are grateful for All Nations knowledge and medicine shared in the 4 Directions philosophy, and the resilience of those who occupied Alcatraz and for those who advocated for Indigenous Rights and still do to this day.  Bear Root Resource Center acknowledge we are guests on the unceded territory of California, within the San Francisco Bay Area region, and live in communities surrounding the Ancestral land of the Sovereign Nations known as the Confederated Villages of Lisjan, Karkin, Patwin, Pomo, Ohlone, Me-Wuk, Mishewal Wappo, Miwok, Muwekma and Nisenan. 

We are in solidarity and are inspired by the incredible work that Indigenous community members are involved in to protect land, water, and other natural resources, and to preserve culture and traditions. Bear Root Resource Center is dedicated to being in good relations with all Indigenous relatives, to give space for their voices to be heard, to center their experiences while want to be active and engaged advocates to strategize ways that will support resilience for many generations to thrive.

Here are some Present Day Community Resources:

ACLU: Indigenous Justice

(AIBL) American Indigenous Business Leaders

(AISES) Advancing Indigenous People In STEM

Alliance for Felix Cove

All My Relations Podcast

American Indian Cultural Center

American Indian Magazine

Assembly of First Nations

AAPI Resources

Asian & Pacific Islander Community Allies Resources

Bay Area Mural Program

California Indian Museum & Cultural Center (CIMCC)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)

California Native American Cultural Preservation Resources

Center for Earth Ethics

Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force (CEMTF)

Cultural Conservancy

Cultural Survival

First Americans Museum

First Nations Development Institute

First Nations Economic Development Conference

First Nations Good Mind Resources

First Peoples' Cultural Conference

Hawaii Peoples Fund

Haudenosaunee Canandaigua Treaty of 1794

Haudenosaunee Sovereign Nation

Illuminative

Indigenous Environmental Network

Indigenous Mothers Community Land Trust

Indigenous Red Market

INDIGENOUS REPRESENTATION AT U.N. 

Indigenous Ways

Intertribal Friendship House

International Indigenous Tourism Conference

Kanyon Konsulting

Klamath Dam Removal

La Peña Cultural Center

Lakota People's Law Project

(MICOP) Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project

Movement Generation

(ACTA) Movimento Cultural de La Union Indigena

Napa County Seed Library

NativeBusiness Center

National Indigenous Education Resources

National Museum of the American Indian

National Indigenous Women's Resource Center

Native Voices: Additional Educational Resources & Learning Activities

(NCAIED) The National Center For American Indian Enterprise Development

NDN Collective

Nike N7

Norcal Resist

North Bay Organizing Project

Protect Thacker Pass

POOR Magazine

(RES Annual Conference) Reservation Economic Summit by NCAIED

Sacramento Native American Health Center (SNAHC)

Santa Fe (SWAIA) Fashion Show

Sealaska Heritage Institute

Seeing Red Media

Seven Generation Fund

Sister Sky: Indigenous Business Resources

Sogorea Te

Thrive Network

Tribal EcoRestoration Alliance

Vision Maker Media

Winnemem Wintu

Yurok Tribe

In Solidarity, Please Join Call to Action!

Global:

Cease Fire Now in Gaza!

Protect Palestine

Hands Off Haiti

Help D.R.C. Congo

Learn about what is happening in D.R.C. Congo

Protect Brazil Amazon Indigenous Land

Local:

Navajo Nation Water Fight

Protect San Carlos Apache Sacred Site

Protect Thacker Pass

Protect Mauna Kea

Run-4-Salmon

Stand with Standing Rock

Let us take moment to lift our heads high, and observe a moment of silence to acknowledge the strength, courage, wisdom and resilience of Ancestors of the Black Diaspora, who were violently uprooted from their land, separated from their loved ones and forced to endure horrific conditions while they were enslaved.  Those whose futures were stolen and taken to Foreign lands during the Transatlantic Slave Trade maintained their faith to overcome these crimes and injustice, and prayed for their present day descendants to thrive.  We acknowledge the past historical accomplishments, as well as present day contributions to our community.   Bear Root Resource Center has made a  long-term commitment to fighting the systems that continue to perpetuate challenges for Black lives in this present moment.  As we continue to navigate through the impacts of colonialism and the harm that our Black relatives have endured and persevered through, and we acknowledge that there is still much more that needs to be done to end social and environmental injustices today.  

We want to take a moment to honor the visionary leaders from an Island known as Ayiti, who united hundreds of men, women and children to gather together to rise up and liberate themselves; and dedicated their lives to free all Black enslaved people around the world.   We would not be free to this day if it were not for the love and conviction of the General and 1st Haitian Emperor, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, who was inspired to do great things after he was freed from slavery by a Free Black man with the last name Dessalines, who purchased him from his slave owner, Duclos.  Dessalines realized that it was possible to end slavery for everyone and he began to collaborate with others to realize this dream.  Dessalines was feared for his reputation as a relentless General of the Armée indigéne he formed.  Toussaint Louverture wrote the first Constitution and said, "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité, and this became the Haitian slogan to inspire hope for it banned slavery and all forms of racial discrimination. There are many key individiuals that contributed to the movement; includng the 1st Haitian Empress, Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité, the war strategist and spiritual guide who was born in the Kingdom of Dahomey, "Gran Toya" (Abdaraya Toya Victoria Montou), Marie Sainte Dédée Bazile (aka Défilée-La-Folle), the General and Governor, Toussaint Louverture, Dame-Consort, Suzanne Simone Baptiste Louverture, Lieutenant Sanité Bélair, Haitian Soldier Marie-Jeanne Lamartiniére, General and Haitian King, Henri Christophe, Haitian Queen Marie-Louise Coidavid, other notable soldiers included President of Haiti, Alexandre Petion, Sanité Bélair, Francois Capois, and John Duckworth.  

The pivotal moment in the Haitian Revolution happened during a spiritual ceremony, at Bois Caïman that was organized by Spiritual Leaders, which included a devoted Houngan and Supreme Chief who was born in present-day Senegal and Gambia and enslaved to Jamaica and later transported to Haiti, we know him as Dutty Boukman and the High Priestess and Mambo, Cécile Fatiman, who gathered 200 enslaved people to pray for liberation.  Herard Dumesle attend the ceremony and wrote about what he witnessed, and how this led to the victory of the Battle of Vertières, and ultimately the Haitian Independence declared on January 01, 1804, as the first Independent Free Black Nation that was a beacon of light that inspired hope in the world .  We give special thanks to Catherine Flon, who was the Haitian Seamstress who is a National hero for sewing the first Haitian flag.  

We are thankful for Spiritual Guardians, Activists, Revolutionaries and Civil Rights Leaders Past, Present and Future individuals who stood up to systems and demanded change to improve the lives of the world around us, and often times their lives were lost or those who they tried to protect were taken too soon.  We would like to acknowledge a few Black and Brown leaders, along with some well respected Allies, but please understand that this is not a complete list, and it is not in any order of significance, as every achievement is equally important.  We thank Queen Nanny, Jamacian Maroon, Omar Saidou Tall, Nanisca  Dahomey Warrior, Harriet Tubman, W.E.B. Du Bois,  Langston Hughes, Malcom X, Martin Luther King, Jr.,  John Lewis, Rosa Parks, Ida B. Wells, Ella Baker, Ruby Bridges, Mahatma Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, Anagarika Dharmapala, Sue Bailey Thurman, Malala Yousafzai, Ram Manohar Lohia, Bayard Rustin, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Martha P. Johnson, Sidney Portier, Thurgood Marshall, James Baldwin, Che Guevara, Celia Cruz, Nezahualcóyotl, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Assata Shakur, Bruce Lee, George Takei, Jose Rizal, Lapulapu, Queen Liliuokalani, Kapaemahu, Huey P. Newton, Eldridge Cleaver, Bobby Seale, Fred Hampton, Angela Davis, Chaka Khan, Afeni Shakur, Jackie Robinson, Nelson Mandela, Maya Angelou, Henrietta Lacks, Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr., Lawyer Johnnie Cochran, Berta Cáceres, Bob Marley, Franck Étienne, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Bell Hooks, Zora Neale Hurston, Chinua Achebe, Ta-Nehisisi Coates,  Ibram X. Kendi, Opal Tometi, Allicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, Tarana Burke, Misty Copeland, George Floyd, Chadwick Boseman, and many more!

Bear Root Resource Center is in solidarity with Black Community Leaders who are aligned with the same vision and values to unite and strengthen our community.  We are inspired by the incredible work that originates from our Black Communities, which influences all communities from all backgrounds, we thank them for their innovation, technology and medical advances, along with their creative bold Artistic expression in all forms, and invites our senses to indulge in culinary soul food, while all contributions preserves Black history, and sets new trends that inspires and empowers generations to thrive.  

We are dedicated and strive to influence our community to realize that we must unite together and uplift, empower and protect Black Lives to ensure that no more lives are lost, and that the senseless loss of lives from Police Brutality, opportunities lost and unfortunately from self-hatred within our community that was taught to us by systems that were built to divide us, oppress us, and limit us, and we can't breath under these conditions any longer as we mourned on a world platform when George Floyd uttered his final words and cried out for his Mother, so we must be fiercely dedicated to ending these injustices now.    We give space for Black voices to be heard, and to promote accurate representation and positive identity that is centered from their experiences, and most importantly told from their perspective, as well as to engage with Allies and invite them to join our movement, to self-educate, to be in solidarity as advocates, and to strategize ways that will support resilience for many generations to thrive.