LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT & IDEA STATEMENT

Land Acknowledgement:

The Merced County Arts Council (MCAC) and the Multicultural Arts Center (MAC) acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded land of the Yokuts and Sierra Miwok peoples. We also acknowledge that this land was founded upon exclusions and erasures of many indigenous peoples. This acknowledgment is to honor and respect the original stewards of this land and demonstrates our commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Statement:

We at the Merced County Arts Council (MCAC) and the Multicultural Arts Center (MAC) are committed to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA). We strive to provide an environment in which all members of our community feel welcome, safe, supported, respected, and valued. We are also committed to creating a universal sense of belonging. We endeavor to create a safe space that benefits everyone across multiple demographics, conditions, and experiences. We prioritize racial equity and anti-racism because racial injustice has no place in our work in encouraging, supporting, advocating, and promoting all the arts and cultures in Merced County. Therefore, we welcome:

All Races and Ethnicities

All Religions and Faiths

All Countries of Origin

All Gender Identities

All Sexual Orientations

All Immigrants and Refugees

All Abilities and Disabilities

All Spoken and Signed Languages

All Statuses

All Ages

Everyone.

We will continue to update this document as we continue to learn and grow. June 29, 2021

Resource for Yokuts and Sierra Miwok Peoples of Merced County:

Yokuts

https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/yokuts/

https://www.tachi-yokut-nsn.gov/

Miwok

https://native-land.ca/maps/territories/southern-sierra-miwok/

https://cla.berkeley.edu/languages/southern-sierra-miwok.php

https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=22538

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miwok

IDEA Definitions

We recognize the following *definitions to describe inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in this
statement:

Inclusion refers to the intentional, ongoing effort to ensure that diverse individuals fully participate in all aspects of organizational work, including decision-making processes. It also refers to the ways that diverse participants are valued as respected members of an organization and/or community.

Diversity is all the ways that people are different and the same at the individual and group levels. Even when people appear the same, they are different. Organizational diversity requires examining and questioning the makeup of a group to ensure that multiple perspectives are represented.

Equity is the fair and just treatment of all members of a community. Equity requires a commitment to strategic priorities, resources, respect, and civility, as well as ongoing action and assessment of progress toward achieving specified goals.

Accessibility is giving equitable access to everyone along the continuum of human ability and experience. Accessibility encompasses the broader meanings of compliance and refers to how organizations make space for the characteristics that each person brings.

*Source: American Alliance of Museums