LAND BACK STATEMENT: Rochester occupies the ancestral and traditional lands of the Onöndowa’ga:’ (Seneca) and Ho-de-no-sau-nee-ga (Haudenosaunee) peoples. In offering this land acknowledgment, I also acknowledge the state-sanctioned acts of genocide against the original inhabitants of this area and the challenges Indigenous communities face today as a result of colonization. I affirm Indigenous sovereignty, history, knowledge, and experiences. I also pledge to support the Land Back movement and reparations in any way that I can until such time that the land is ceded to its rightful stewards.