Ashes to Ascension
Counseling & Healing Services
Land Acknowledgment and Commitment to Respect
At Ashes to Ascension Counseling, we honor the land on which we live and work in Bayfield and Durango, Colorado, and acknowledge that it is the ancestral homeland of the Núuchiu (Ute) peoples, including the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Tribes, as well as a place of longstanding presence, movement, and relationship for the Jicarilla Apache, Pueblo, Hopi, and Diné (Navajo) Nations.
We recognize that this land holds deep histories of resilience, wisdom, and connection, as well as the lasting impacts of colonization, displacement, and broken treaties that continue to affect Indigenous communities today. We honor the Indigenous peoples of this region, past, present, and future, and their enduring relationship with the land, water, and spirit of this place.
In the spirit of healing and transformation, we offer this acknowledgment as a practice of humility, remembrance, and respect. We commit to ongoing learning, ethical care, and solidarity with Indigenous communities, recognizing that healing (personal and collective) requires truth, accountability, and reverence for those who came before us.
At Ashes to Ascension Counseling, we acknowledge and honor Indigenous peoples who have longstanding cultural and spiritual relationships with sacred medicines and ceremonial healing traditions. These practices are rooted in specific cultural lineages and community contexts that deserve respect, protection, and sovereignty.
Our practice provides natural medicine services that are legally regulated under the State of Colorado and delivered in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and professional standards through a licensed healing center. These services are offered within a structured, non-religious framework, and do not include Indigenous ceremonies, traditional spiritual practices, or culturally specific rituals.
Natural medicine services at Ashes to Ascension Counseling are grounded in evidence-informed preparation, supportive facilitation, and post-experience integration, with a primary focus on psychological safety, informed consent, and ethical care. While our approach may incorporate nature-informed, mindfulness-based, or somatic therapeutic elements, all services remain within the scope of clinical training and regulatory guidance.
This statement reflects our commitment to transparency, cultural humility, and responsible practice, while honoring Indigenous wisdom without appropriating or replicating ceremonial traditions.