Rose Island Farm sits on the territory of the Puyallup people who continue to be the protectors of this land. Their ancestors, along with the ancestors of all of the Coastal Salish Peoples, give us strength and guidance as we raise our family and tend the soil in this beautiful place. I recognize that we as a Tsimshian and Nuxalk family are guests on this territory and we don’t take this privilege for granted. As guests, we know it is our responsibility to open our farm to our Indigenous relatives as a place for healing and reconnecting to the many plant medicines that belong in the Puget Sound region.

Indigenous wisdom and practices have been made secondary by the co-optation of our practices by Western systems and Eurocentric standards. I am proud to be part of a loving circle of herbalists centering our cultural ways of being, knowing, and taking care of our collective wellness. We are committed to creating pathways for our people to share our practices and our sovereign indigenous knowledge.

Our people are, and have always been healers, scientists, and teachers. We believe in restoring the power of Indigenous wisdom and interrupting the recent hierarchies in herbalism, nutrition, and medical medicine.

As a community-trained herbalist, I am eternally grateful for those who have taught and continue to teach me the ways of care, reciprocity and community. I am grateful to and humbled by the wisdom of my ancestors that continues to be passed to me by my Mother, my relatives, and my deep ancestral lineages of community. I also lift up the following people who’ve opened their homes, memories, and practices to me and my family as we walk this path together:

Canoe Journey Herbalists

Indigenous Herbalist Pathways

Edna Deerunner

Karyn Sanders

Valerie Segrest

Jean Madrone

Elise Krohn

Nitanis Desjarlais

Rhonda Schooner

Dionne Paul

Lori Snyder

Victoria Buffalo-Robe

It is with humility and gratitude that we pass along the things that were passed along to us.