Landback

Indigenous-Led Environmental Planning: A Blueprint For Equity

November 27, 2024 Somia Sadiq and Desiree Theriault, Next City. Create! Canada, Indigenous People, Landback, Urban Planning

We gather around the dinner table as one of the participants starts a smudge ceremony. Among us are three women who transitioned out of the sex trade more than 20 years ago. They carry the deep scars of their pasts, including Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, which shapes how they navigate our meetings. They only speak with those they trust. Their triggers — such as needing to sit where they can see everything — are reminders of how trauma shapes their lives. We know these conversations will touch on their past, but only at a pace they set. To rush would mean losing their trust.

Removing Hydropower Dams Can Restore Ecosystems

November 11, 2024 Katie Schmidt, Resilience. Educate! climate crisis, Dam Removal, Dams, Ecosystems, Energy, Environment, Hydropower, Indigenous Rights, Landback, Water

A free-flowing river supports abundant fish and wildlife, provides drinking water, and other intangible recreational benefits. But humans have sought to block rivers with dams for millennia. While dams have provided benefits like hydroelectricity and water storage, they have also been ecologically disastrous. Besides blocking fish migrations, these human-made structures can destroy seasonal pulses of water that keep ecosystems in balance. Some dams—especially those used for power—can deplete water in streams, leaving entire stretches of river bone dry.

Apache Stronghold Standing In The Way Of A Massive Copper Mine

May 13, 2024 Brandi Morin, Ricochet Resist! Apache, Arizona, colonization, Indigenous Rights, Landback, Mining, Oak Flat, Sacred sites

In the heart of the Arizona high desert lies a battle for the soul of the land. The ancient, sacred grounds of Apache Native territory are under threat from a looming giant — a massive copper mine that promises riches for the locals, and a pathway to the so-called green transition. But, as is often the case, it comes at a cost. The San Carlos Apache tribe calls it Chi’chil Bildagoteel, English speakers call it Oak Flat. It sits on a mountainous plateau within a 17.3-kilometer oasis in the Tonto National Forest. Rio Tinto and BHP, two of the world’s biggest mining companies, have staked their claim here through a joint venture called Resolution Copper.

Canadian Land Defenders Continue Struggle Against Illegal Developments

October 1, 2022 Matthew Walters, Left Voice. Resist! Canada, Indigenous Rights, Land Rights, Landback

Ontario, Canada - On September 12-13, Indigenous land defenders were once again in courts after over 20 months of fighting land grabbing in Ontario, Canada. The case is between Foxgate, a real estate development company in Ontario, and 1492 Land Back Lane, a land reclamation started by land defenders from Six Nations established on the land Foxgate seeks to develop on. Foxgate points to the agreements between themselves and the “official” government of Six Nations, the Six Nations Elected Council (SNEC), obtained after acquiring rights to the land from Haldimand County, as proof that they obtained “free, prior and informed consent” for the rights to the land. Whatever technical and legal trickery Foxgate may use to defend their development, the clear and easily provable facts are that this land is and remains unceded, and the Haudenosaunee have not been meaningfully consulted.

From Alcatraz To Moss Lake, The Land Back! Movement Is Not New

April 17, 2022 Lee Beason II, Last Real Indians. Resist! colonization, Indigenous Activism, Land Reform, Landback

Land Back! is a popular slogan among Natives on social media in the form of memes, hashtags and posts advocating decolonization. It is spray painted on the sides of buildings and bronze statues of euroamerican colonizers (preferably in red), as well as appearing as a talking point on an episode of Reservation Dogs. Although the term has gained popularity via social media and perhaps viewed as a recent trend, Land Back! actions have been in effect since the Red Power movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s. One of the more well-known Land Back! events from that era was the 1969 occupation of Alcatraz Island, a former federal prison near the San Francisco Bay. Hundreds of angry and motivated Natives arrived by the boatload and demanded the deed to the island.

Lawyer’s Groups Support Hawaii’s Case For Ending US Occupation

August 3, 2021 Natali Segovia, National Lawyers Guild. Resist! Hawaii, Hawaiian Kingdom, Landback, US Imperialism

The Water Protector Legal Collective (WPLC), alongside the International Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL) and National Lawyers Guild (NLG), filed an amicus curiae (“friend of the court”) brief today in support of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s complaint against the United States government, President Joe Biden, and other defendants, due to the unlawful occupation of Hawai‘i by the United States since January 17, 1893. The complaint and the amicus brief request Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, namely for the US to end the occupation of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Landback Movement Would Return Stolen Land To Indigenous Stewardship

July 28, 2021 In These Times. Resist! Environment, Indigenous Rights, Landback

Beyond its explicit demand, landback is about transforming settler-colonial relationships to land; restoring the language, culture and sovereignty of tribal communities; and dismantling white supremacy. Landback is part of a larger movement toward decolonization and liberation and has existed in various forms in North America for centuries. The landback movement has inspired a growing call for the Black Hills in South Dakota to be returned to the Oceti Sakowin (Sioux). The area became a flash point in July 2020, when 20 Indigenous land defenders were arrested while protesting a campaign rally for President Donald Trump at Mount Rushmore. Three months later, NDN Collective, an Indigenous nonprofit, launched a campaign to close Mount Rushmore, an “international symbol of white supremacy,” and to return all public lands in the Black Hills to Indigenous groups.

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