Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging acknowledges that we live and work on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. Please read our land acknowledgement and promise below.

Land Acknowledgement and Promise:
As community members of the Arrowhead Region, and employees of the Arrowhead Area Agency on Aging, we acknowledge we reside and work on traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people, including the homelands of Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
As we support our mission to help older adults maintain their highest level of independence, we do this while being respectful of the space we are being welcomed into by Indigenous people. We strive to deepen our understanding of the multiple ways in which people see and understand land and acknowledge the Indigenous people who have relationships with this land. We also acknowledge the decades of historical trauma, loss, and grief experienced by Indigenous people.
It is our promise to not only recognize these truths, but also take action to show support of our Indigenous elders, neighbors, and friends, and understand our place within the past, present, and future of this land. We know this is just one step in recognizing and honoring the sovereignty of Tribal Nations.
It is the AAAA’s promise to strive to:
Hold space for Indigenous people to be their authentic selves and continue their cultural traditions by practicing cultural humility, honoring feedback, and being an ally by calling in, rather than out, others to the conversation.
Seek to understand world views outside our own by continuing to acknowledge the effects of colonialism, systemic racism/oppression, and cultural trauma.
Build interdependent and long-lasting relationships with the Indigenous people of this land.
Have respect and reverence for the Earth itself and live in ways that sustain and protect our natural world as well as support reparations and protection of culturally significant landmarks.
Hire, promote, support, and/or fund Indigenous people and organizations, and incorporate a cultural lens in our work, and acknowledge that we are working from a place of privilege.

This document is fluid and non-exhaustive and will change as we live and grow in our inclusion work. We hope this acknowledgment furthers a lifetime of learning and un-learning about our country’s history and how it has affected those who have been historically excluded.