Our Commitment to Equity

We are deeply committed to advancing equity in mental health services, particularly for perinatal populations. Our efforts are focused on addressing and reducing the disparities that have been linked to maternal mortality. We strive to ensure that all individuals, particularly those from historically marginalized backgrounds, have access to appropriate mental health and recovery services. 

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Land Acknowledgment:
We humbly acknowledge that University of Colorado – Anschutz Medical Campus is located on the traditional and contemporary homelands of Indigenous peoples. Our campus resides on unceded lands of the Arapaho people, established to the Treaty of Fort Laramie in 1851. We recognize the enduring presence of more than 40,000 Indigenous peoples in the greater Denver area. The sprawling urban American Indian and Alaska Native presence in Denver consists of other tribes native to Colorado such as Apache, Comanche, Shoshone, and Ute community members yet is now home to numerous other Indigenous people from many of the 560 plus federally recognized tribes in this country. We recognize and affirm the ties these nations have to their traditional homelands and the many Indigenous people who thrive in this place, alive and strong.

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Together, we acknowledge the painful history of genocide, forced removal, and ongoing systemic inequities that have had a profoundly negative impact on Native nations. We give thanks to the past, present and future stewards of this land and respect all tribal nations’ sovereignty and right to self-determination. We recognize the lessons, including many medical and public health lessons Indigenous communities have offered and continue to teach us.

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Labor Acknowledgment:
We respectfully acknowledge the enslaved and indentured people, primarily of African descent, whose labor was exploited to build this country with little to no recognition. Today, we are indebted to their labor and the labor of many black and brown bodies that continue to work in the shadows for our collective benefit.