11/02/2023
As we come together as a community in Lake Tahoe and Alpine County, Live Violence Free acknowledges that we are gathered on the historical lands of its original inhabitants, the Washoe (Waši•šiw) Tribe. This land that holds Live Violence Free, and the community we serve, was stolen from the Washoe through centuries of wars, broken treaties, and acts of cultural genocide. Through incredible perseverance and resistance, the Washoe remain here today, caring for the land and the life it sustains.
As an organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of domestic violence, we know that Indigenous women and girls face the highest risk of domestic violence, sexual assault, and intimate partner homicide. This, too, is a legacy of white settler colonization. We grieve and honor the missing and murdered. At the same time, we express our gratitude for those who are still among us, those Indigenous-led organizations who are fighting every day for a world without domestic and sexual violence.
While this acknowledgment cannot eliminate the past, we commit ourselves to sustaining meaningful partnerships with our Washoe neighbors now and in the future. We commit ourselves to supporting tribal sovereignty with the same fervor that we support the self-sovereignty of victim-survivors. We honor these ancestral grounds upon which we are collectively gathered, and we support the strength and resilience that the Washoe continue to show.
