Acknowledgments

To the first peoples of Switzerland, who were colonized

To the first peoples of Germany, who were colonized

To the first peoples of Scandinavia, who were colonized

To the first peoples of Lithuania, who were colonized

To the first peoples of the Netherlands, who were colonized

To the first peoples of the British Isles, who were colonized

To the first peoples of the Americas, who were colonized

To the first peoples of The Great Utah Basin, who were colonized

To the first peoples of the West Coast of the Americas, where I now stand, who were colonized

.

To the first plant, animal and living beings, who were colonized

To the meat, vegetable, herb, tree, crops, who were colonized

To the plots of land that will never see the sun, under concrete, colonized

To the trauma, disconnection and forgetting that lives on in my bones, blood and gut, colonized

.

To the sicknesses that are trying to help me see

.

May I find a way to understand

May I find a way to respect

May I find a way to honor

May I find a way to clear

May I find a way to remember

.

These hands

These white hands, open

These blue eyes, open

This raw, beating heart, open

Aching

.

To all who have been a part of me

To all who have suffered

And to all I am a part of

May we find a way

To remember

Our privilege

This privilege

This Body

This Earth

May we find

A way

.

From Food Memories, by Reagan Lakins. Posted in honor of Indigenous People’s Day, October 11, 2021.