Please join me in this opportunity to stand up for
and give voice to the unceded lands and waters
of the Salinan people and acknowledge their tribal sovereignty.
I ask you to join me in acknowledging their Salinan communities,
their elders past, present, and future,
for they hold the knowledge and stories of this place.
These lands and waters were founded upon exclusions and erasures of many
Indigenous people, including the Salinan people, whose waters this vessel,
the Okeanos Explorer, sits upon today.
In spite of all that has happened in the past, each tribe, council,
clan, and band is working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices
and relationships on their lands and heal from this historical trauma.
Together as a community, we can acknowledge the mistakes
and atrocities of the past, move forward
in remembrance and relationship with local Salinan communities
and Indigenous peoples to begin the process of healing
by making sure that the processes here and everywhere we are
make room for all Indigenous voices to be heard,
their traditional knowledge of these territories be listened to,
and their people to be a part of the healing of these lands,
as well as themselves. As tribal neighbors,
our territories are not firm lines, but rather
a blending of edges where we have shared territories,
especially here, in the Morro Bay, Big Sur area.
There was a large swath of shared territory,
which means not only did they share lands
but resources, some customs, and even families.
This acknowledgment
is a call to action to all to begin the process
of creating a relationship with your local Indigenous communities
and to work to dismantle the ongoing
legacies of settler colonialism.
Thank you.