Land and Water Acknowledgement
As an American artist and educator, I honor the original people, plants, and animals of the places I inhabit, as a way to address erasure, honor truth, and inspire action.

I was born in Pittsburgh, on the ancestral lands of the Adena culture, Hopewell culture, and Monongahela peoples, who were later joined by refugees of other tribes, such as the Delaware, Shawnee, and Haudenosaunee, who were exiled from their homelands by colonizers. I was raised and currently work in Seattle on the stolen territories of the Coast Salish peoples and also live in Palm Springs on the leased land of the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians.

As the child of immigrants, I recognize the benefits of living and working on indigenous homelands and waterways, and offer respect by acknowledging the ancestors, elders, and relatives of multiple native communities, vow to learn from their wisdom, and affirm their sovereign rights as First Peoples.