ACTS Update: UICSL Community Blessing

With the conclusion of the NWSL Challenge Cup, ACTS once again would like to acknowledge the traditional Indigenous lands in Utah on which the tournament took place.

While our teams stayed within a “bubble” this past month, the tournament itself still had an impact on the community in the Salt Lake City area. As such, our final Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake (UICSL) highlight is of their annual community blessing.

From UICSL:

For the past 4 years, the Urban Indian Center of Salt Lake has provided an annual community blessing in November. This event brings our Native community together, to connect socially, physically, and spiritually, as well as to receive a blessing from a spiritual leader from several tribes from Utah. The blessing – presented through song, stories, and prayer – provides an a

venue for individuals to maintain and enhance their cultural ways in the urban setting and to remain connected to cultural practices and traditions. Native American medicine is used for smudging, prayer, and healing. The prayers help uplift our community and are open to both Natives and non-Natives in the Salt Lake area. The event closes with community members, UICSL staff, and the spiritual leaders partaking in a community meal.

Our community blessing event provides bridges for other agencies to collaborate with our community members. These agencies, along with the SLC community, give back through donations and food.

The ACTS Fundraiser, powered by Prideraiser, has raised over $22,000 in committed pledges for the UICSL, which will go towards assisting events such as the community blessing. We would like to thank everyone who contributed to this cause. We encourage fans to research and support their local Indigenous communities.