We acknowledge that this conference takes place on the traditional lands of the Kumeyaay people, who have lived here for thousands of years. Interstate 8 follows a historic Kumeyaay trail, aptly named Kumeyaay Highway. The Kumeyaay are Indigenous to both sides of the US-Mexico border, spanning southwestern California and northwestern Baja California. They are a federally recognized tribe, with sovereignty over their lands and governance through their tribal councils. Today, the Kumeyaay continue to maintain their culture and sovereignty as vital members of the San Diego community. 

While many tribes are federally recognized, others remain unacknowledged due to historical policies, the failure to ratify negotiated treaties and the termination of the status of dozens of tribes in the 1950s and 1960s. The United Nations declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages, in response to the growing threat of language extinction, underscoring the need to preserve Indigenous cultures and languages. 

Indigenous peoples across the Americas once moved freely, without the constraints of modern borders. Tribes traveled for hunting, agriculture, and community, moving fluidly across what is now the US, Canada, and Mexico. The Kumeyaay and Indigenous peoples from the south of the border share this deep connection to the land, and it is important to honor that unity. We are all one. 

A land acknowledgement is a critical step towards working with native communities to secure meaningful partnership and inclusion in the stewardship and protection of their cultural resources and homelands.

Please take a moment to honor these ancestral grounds that we are collectively gathered upon and support the resilience and strength that all Indigenous people have shown worldwide.

We extend our gratitude to the Indigenous Sovereign Nations Employee Resource Group of the County of San Diego for their guidance in crafting this acknowledgment. Their work brings visibility, education, and hope, while also creating a safe space for our indigenous brothers and sisters to communicate. This group is not about one person, but about future generations keeping the roots alive.

 For more information, visit www.native-land.ca for an interactive map of Indigenous territories.