Land Acknowledgement

The following land acknowledgment is dedicated to Mary Courtepatte of the Michel Band, a Residential School Survivor who lost her childhood, George Vickery, son of a Residential School Survivor who never had the opportunity to embrace his culture, and Laura Grist, Mary’s granddaughter, who carries their memories and strives for a better future.

We wish to acknowledge that our business operates on the ancestral and unceded homelands of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie), qʼʷa:n̓ ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen), qiqéyt (Qayqayt), and Stó:lō (Sto:lo) Peoples. At Laura Grist Interior Design, we acknowledge that Indigenous Peoples have endured significant hardships under colonial and postcolonial laws and policies. We commit ourselves to ongoing learning about the rich history of the traditional lands our office occupies.

We also firmly believe in acknowledging the lands and their traditional names. Acknowledging the ongoing truths of historical events and refraining from discussing Indigenous Peoples in the past tense is vital to preventing a perpetuated disconnection from their current realities, fostering cultural appreciation, recognizing territorial rights, and supporting truth and reconciliation efforts. We understand that overlooking the present existence of Indigenous Peoples can contribute to denying them their rights. Therefore, we are committed to challenging systems of oppression that have dispossessed Indigenous people from their lands and denied their rights.