We would like to acknowledge that the land we are meeting on today has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples. 

Specifically, the Missoula and Bitterroot Valleys are the original homelands of the Séliš (Salish) and Qlispe (Pend d’Oreille/Kalispel) people who inhabited this land since time immemorial. This area was also frequented by other tribes including the Ksanka (Kootenai), Niitsitapi (Blackfeet), Newe (Shoshone), Apsáalooke (Crow), and Ka’I gwu (Kiowa).

We honor the original stewards of this land and their descendants, many of whom continue to live, work, teach, create, and learn in this community. We are committed to showing gratitude for the land and its Indigenous peoples by respecting and remembering this in our thoughts and actions.