As a school community, we acknowledge that we occupy stolen land. “The Portland Metro area rests on traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin, Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River creating communities and summer encampments to harvest and use the plentiful natural resources of the area” (Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable, 2018). The First Peoples of this region have called this area home since time immemorial and continue to live, work, and lead here.
As a school guided by Montessori principles, we are committed to examining and dismantling oppressive systems. As settlers and guests on these lands, we respect the work of Indigenous leaders and families. We are grateful for the generations of wisdom Indigenous people have shared, including an awareness of the interconnectedness of people, land, and the natural world. To this end, we are committed to the Board action of changing our school name and are working to do so in a collaborative and transparent manner. We also are committed to creating resources and actions to back up the land acknowledgment.
We encourage our LCMCS community members to make donations to: https://www.changingcurrents.
Land Acknowledgement Guidance Document, provided by the Oregon Legislative Committee on Indian Services
The State of Oregon’s Overview of the tribes
“The Native American Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile”
“Leading With Tradition: Native American Community in the Portland Metropolitan Area”
Provided by Portland’s Native American Community Advisory Council
“First Peoples in the Portland Basin”
https://willamettepartnership.
An Indigenous People’s History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
