Land Acknowledgement and Our Commitments to Communities

We would first like to acknowledge the traditional, ancestral, unceded lands of the Syilx (Okanagan), Tsleil-Waututh, Musqueam, Squamish, Stó:lō, Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group, Stz’uminus peoples, on which we live and work from. It is important for us (Crystal and Annika) to hold space on our virtual address, in this case, our business website.  

In Crystal’s words

With a family history blended of 3-4th generation white settlers and 2-3 generations of Chinese immigrants, I was raised to be a proud “Canadian” and was taught a very narrow narrative of Indigenous people through the context of a few history lessons. In my first decade of adulthood, I didn’t spend any time considering the very real and present oppressive and racist systems continuing to disenfranchise Indigenous people of their rights and lands. Now (in my 3rd decade of being an adult), I believe acknowledging these lands is the bare minimum we can do.

In Annika’s words

I grew up in Eastern Germany where all I knew of Indigenous people was from phony white supremacist movies that showed the white Cowboy hero and the “Indian” rebels. Many years after moving to Vancouver, I had the opportunity to work with various First Nations in Metro Vancouver. It was the first time I appreciated their rich culture, traditions and right to their lands, which have been suppressed for hundreds of years by white settlers like me. That’s why I feel it’s important to recognize what is not mine and show gratitude.

Our Commitments (updated in May 2023)

We understand that we, as individuals, and Canada as a whole, have a long way to go in reconciling with Indigenous peoples. We are committed to doing work beyond acknowledging and reckoning with our own racism. As a starting point, we are refreshing our Community Contributions for 2023 to support the careers and well-being of Indigenous womxn leaders. One example is we are currently developing a comprehensive way to support Indigenous coaches in both honing their skills in the coaching profession and supporting Indigenous coaches to be paid fairly for their healing work. We are also developing ways to support individual Indigenous womxn leaders access coaching support from Indigenous coaches.