About GVIA

Land Acknowledgment

We come together today as people of faith.
The Gallatin Valley Interfaith Association acknowledges the history of colonialism and a
need for change in settler colonial societies, which claimed ownership of the Gallatin
Valley, displacing those who traveled, hunted and lived here. We wish to name that we
sit on unceded land that was shared grounds of:
Crow - Apsaalooke
Blackfeet - Niitsitapi
Cheyenne - Tséstho’e
Salish - Salish
Kootenai
Sioux - english word for the Lakota/Dakota (In Canada, Ojibwe)
Nakota - Assiniboine (Stone Sioux) (Also Sioux, politically distinct)
Chippewa (Little Shell tribe part of the Ojibwe)
Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and others.
We wish to use our privilege to empower these people and nations, to lift up their stories
and heal their trauma. May our work include justice and protection, knowledge of
current treaties and need for new ones, for these and all people who choose to live in
the Valley of the Flowers.

Participation

GVIA welcomes three groups as valued participants:
Members: Members represent member congregations, centers, churches,
and/or religious communities with active spiritual traditions in the Gallatin Valley.
Each member-religious organization of GVIA is invited to have 2 representatives,
who have the right to voice and vote. Ideally, a member organization has a
spiritual leader/ clergy person and a lay leader/ active participant.

Partners: Partners may represent a spiritual tradition or a non-profit group.
Partners may be sole practitioners of a faith tradition inactive in the Gallatin
Valley. Partners may also be leaders or members of a non-profit group in the
Gallatin Valley. Partners have voice but no vote. Exception: Partners voted to
serve on the Leadership Team.

Friends: Friends are individuals interested in the purpose, vision, values, and
mission of Gallatin Valley Interfaith Association. Friends are welcome to attend
GVIA meetings. Friends are without voice or vote in meetings. Exceptions: (A)
Friends may be invited by a Leadership Team member to speak at a specific
meeting on a specific issue. (B) Friends who are voted to serve on the
Leadership Team have a vote.