Acknowledgement, Responsibility, and Reparations Action Plan


As a values-forward Collective, Creative Generation seeks to embed meaningful actions within our everyday work to foster accountability, repair historic wrongs, and pursue justice. 

Catalyzed by the racial reckoning in 2020, it became common place for organizations to engage in actions or processes towards reconciliation - like recognizing Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)-focused holidays such as Indigenous People’s Day and Juneteenth, issuing statements proclaiming Black Lives Matter, or articulating land acknowledgments ahead of place-based gatherings - without enacting systemic changes towards dismantling the root causes of White supremacy and resulting patriarchy, heteronormativity, ableism, capitalism, etc. 

To live our values, we believe more needs to be done to move past performativity; thus, we have embedded several strategies within our regular work to achieve sustainable, everyday, and systemic change.

First, we must recognize, uplift, and expresses gratitude for:

  • The elders: those who came before us, and whose contributions to communities, societies, and the world we build upon;

  • The caretakers: the Indigenous communities - past, present, and future – who serve as current and historic stewards of the unceded land upon which we live and work; and 

  • The global majority: the individuals and communities around the world who have resisted historic and contemporary acts of oppression like white supremacy, racial capitalism, ableism, and heteropatriarchy.

We acknowledge, give thanks, and pay respect to these peoples.

Second, we recognize that much of our work, past and present, benefits from a legacy rooted in oppression, manifesting today as power and resource hoarding. We understand that no number of performative actions, like public statements or one-time financial allocations, from our organization or our governments can fully compensate for the horrific oppression over many generations. So, on behalf of ourselves and those who came before us, who are unable to do so, we take responsibility for counteracting these histories seriously and invite others to do so along with us.

Finally, from the time of our founding, we are committed – in our words and actions – to move towards a more just world. Here is how:

Recognition & Responsibility. We recognize the historic wrongs perpetrated against those whom we hold dear and their ancestors. We take responsibility for counteracting these histories by recognizing our privilege, pursuing justice, and investing resources strategically.

  • As a Collective of individuals, we recognize, uplift, and express gratitude to the caretakers of the unceded lands our “offices” are located - a full list of these peoples and practices to honor their land are located below*. We honor and give thanks to all indigenous peoples on whose land we host gatherings in the course of our work. We acknowledge and pay respect to these peoples as the past, present, and future caretakers of the land. In doing so, we take actions to caretake and enrich the natural habitat upon which we are working by cultivating natural growth and mitigating the impact of our use. (Example: During our annual retreat, we purchased fresh food from local farms, donated funds to support the composting of our waste in a nearby community garden, and spent time removing trash from the park within which we spent time.)

  • As a Collective of individuals, we celebrate and uplift those who resist oppression by providing time away from projects on recognized holidays, as deemed appropriate by the Collective, like Earth Day, Indigenous People’s Day, 2SLGBTQIA+ Pride, and Juneteenth. On these days, team members are encouraged to volunteer and contribute to these efforts. (Example: On Juneteenth, an American holiday to commemorate the end of slavery, team members are encouraged to participate in Black-led causes which counteract the legacy and impacts of the Atlantic Slave Trade.)

Understanding & Responsiveness. We believe that local context, especially the historic impacts of oppression relevant to unique communities, matters. We resist the common acts of collaboration which work to impose solutions on communities; but rather seek to disrupt this norm and co-create solutions as facilitators with community-based leaders by operating transparently, valuing process over product, and honoring diversity and enabling radical inclusion.

  • For each project, we seek to understand the local context before entering a co-creative process to envision solutions to challenges. In the first phase of any project, we establish a process of understanding and produce our learnings to inform our team without imposing additional labor on local community members. (Example: As we begin to work with an institution, we spend time conducting interviews with stakeholders or facilitating conversations, exploring the local ecosystem, historical dynamics, and key influences or challenges – an internal memo is produced to inform the current and future project team.)

  • For each project, we seek to foster human connections between our team and those with whom we are working. We believe that the work is more successful when all involved have strong, trusting relationships. (Example: We allocate financial resources to order food and build relationships with project contributors over shared meals.)

Reinvesting Resources. We believe that resources should be invested locally, repaid to those whose labor has historically or presently advanced the work, and protected from the harms of racialized capitalism. We seek to provide compensation for the time of the members of our Collective and allocate other resources into communities, specifically to youth, members of the global majority, or anti-oppression causes and organizations.

  • As an organization, we prioritize projects which encourage the broad-scale, paid involvement of people outside of our Collective, particularly those who are often unheard in certain dialogues, and uplift their voices. We re-distribute our earnings to compensate for their time, knowledge, and contributions. (Example: We construct work plans, which build in time and financial resources to pay youth of color and BIPOC-led community-based organizations as authors and contributors of case studies, which inform the design of a research initiative for a large, predominantly white institution.)

  • As an organization, we fund projects from the profits of our earnings, which we feel are important, timely, and necessary for our community of practice. Oftentimes, these projects would not otherwise be funded. (Example: In one fiscal year, we invested $30,000 in staff time and hard cost to conduct a large-scale research initiative with, for, and about a hyper-marginalized group, which could not get funded yet advanced the dialogue in our sector.)

  • As an organization, we embed periods of rest and rejuvenation, recognizing this as an act of resistance within oppressive systems and as a necessary component for creativity. (Example: We craft an annual schedule which designates quarterly “Quiet Weeks” and honors “Quiet Fridays” which are free of internal or external meetings or deadlines.)

Ownership. We recognize that we are imperfect and are likely to make mistakes. We commit to acknowledging those mistakes and their impacts and working to both learn from and mitigate the negative effects of our actions.

  • We understand the harmful effects of travel on the planet and understand the inevitable nature of this action in our work. Thus, we work to mitigate air travel and utilize carbon-neutral means of connection. To counteract these affects, we will work within local communities to identify meaningful ways to heal the environment. (Example: When working on a project that requires extensive travel, our team donates to and volunteers with local efforts to conserve natural habitats.)

  • We understand the ever-changing conditions, specifically language, when working with diverse populations. We seek to keep relevant with the most appropriate terminology or methods of collaboration possible by ceding power to and learning from the-most-impacted groups. (Example: In recent years, the language to describe learning environments for individuals with disabilities has changed; we seek to update our vernacular and describe these environments using the terminology from leaders in this field of practice.)

  • We understand that we are a responsive Collective of individuals working in a dynamic world; thus, we are committed to constantly revisiting our mission, vision, values, goals, strategies, and commitments. (Example: During our annual planning, our team revises our foundational underpinnings in response to our current work.)


Just as we, at Creative Generation, seek to embed meaningful actions within our everyday work to foster accountability and work to repair historic wrongs, we also encourage our constituents to do the same. Below, please find a list of resources utilized by our team when compiling this plan of action:



* We honor and give thanks to all indigenous peoples on whose land we host gatherings in the course of our work. Specifically, we give thanks to the Wabanaki Alliance, which consists of the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians, Mi’kmaq Nation, Penobscot Nation, and the Passamaquoddy Tribe, which includes the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Motahkomikuk and the Passamaquoddy Tribe at Sipayik, upon whose land our offices are situated. We acknowledge and pay respect to these peoples as the past, present, and future caretakers of the land. We encourage you to learn more about the land on which you reside by visiting native-land.ca and continue to honor and respect their land.