Before we get started,
I would first like to do a land acknowledgment.
So, I would like to ask you all
to join me in acknowledging the Muwekma Ohlone community,
their elders, both past and present
as well as their future generations.
NOAA, our partners and co-host here today,
also acknowledge that these lands and waters were founded upon exclusions
and erasures of many Indigenous people, including the Muwekma.
As we work together to protect our lands and waters,
we remember that our people have been separated
from these lands, unable to maintain livelihoods as we should, unable
to recreate traditionally, and unable to maintain our traditional life ways.
But every day, our tribal groups are making great
efforts to restore all of this.
[speaking Native language]
We honor our ancestors today and every day.