Land and territorial acknowledgement

Common Thread Learning Design is based in Vancouver, on the unceded ancestral territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation) and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh Nation). These Nations have cared for and maintained relationships with these lands and waters since time immemorial.

Our work and personal relationships also extend to Puerto Escondido and the coast of Oaxaca. We recognize the enduring presence, knowledge and cultures of the Chatino, Mixtec and Zapotec peoples, alongside other Indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities of the region. We recognize that the histories and territorial relationships of the region cannot be reduced to a single name or acknowledgement.

Because Common Thread works remotely with people and organizations throughout North America, our work takes place across many distinct Indigenous lands, treaty territories and homelands. We encourage everyone joining our projects to learn whose lands they are working from and to understand the responsibilities that come with living and working there.

We recognize that acknowledgement alone is not enough. We seek to reflect this responsibility through respectful relationships, fair compensation for Indigenous knowledge and language work, protection of community ownership and authority, and learning-design processes that are shaped with — not simply created for — the communities they serve.