Author: Dr. Maria Y. Rodriguez
I acknowledge the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and honor the sovereignty of the Six Nations–the Mohawk, the Cayuga, the Onondaga, the Oneida, the Seneca and the Tuscarora. I live and work on their land, here in Buffalo NY, and I offer my thanks to them and their ancestors for the opportunity.
I also give thanks to my ancestors, the Taino and Arawak people, my West African ancestors (predominantly from Benin, Togo and the Congo) who recreated their home as best they could on the island known then as Ayiti, now Hispaniola, after their kidnapping and enslavement, as well as the colonizers who made their home in Ayiti: the Spanish and Portuguese among others. I thank my ancestors for their guidance and protection and ask them to accompany me during this presentation.