Cañada College Land and Labor Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that Cañada College is situated on the traditional unceded land of the Ramaytush (Rah-my-toosh) Ohlone (Oh-LOW-nee) peoples, and we respect our past elders and honor the present community. Long before Cañada College existed, this area was home to the Ramaytush Ohlone peoples, who still have a presence in the Bay Area today.

We have a responsibility to acknowledge that we as a Cañada community have benefited from the use and occupation of this land and that the tragic legacy of colonization, genocide, capitalism, racism, and oppression still impacts people today. 

We also recognize the labor upon which this educational institution, state, and country is built. 

We acknowledge the peoples of African ancestry who were enslaved and forcibly brought to this land, and whose forced labor played a major role in the formation of this country. We are indebted to their uncompensated labor and their unwilling sacrifice over hundreds of years—which continues to impact generations today. We honor the legacy of the African diaspora and the continued contribution of their survivors. 

We acknowledge the contributions of all immigrant labor, forced labor, and undocumented people who contributed, and continue to contribute, to the building and feeding of this land. We acknowledge their immeasurable sacrifices and work that allow us to gather in this space today.  

Let us not forget. Let us honor and engage with the people who have stewarded and labored on this land for generations, and let us honor these truths—by taking responsibility as a college community to continually educate ourselves about these realities, to affirm our commitment to justice through continual action, and to protect and sustain this land.