Land Acknowledgment
RootWise Academy is located in the Pleasant Valley community of Vancouver, Washington, on the ancestral and present-day homelands of the Chinookan peoples and the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. We honor the Indigenous peoples who have cared for this land and its waters since time immemorial, and we recognize their enduring relationships with this place.
Our learning is also enriched through relationships with elders of the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, including an elder who shares Yakama and Nez Perce ancestry. We are grateful for the knowledge, stories, and cultural teachings they share with our community.
We offer this acknowledgment as an expression of respect and as a reminder of our responsibility to understand the history of the land where we learn and gather. We recognize that a land acknowledgment cannot erase the harms of colonization, forced displacement, cultural suppression, and ongoing injustice. It must be accompanied by continued learning, honest reflection, respect for tribal sovereignty, meaningful relationships with Indigenous communities, and responsible care for the land we share.