70 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
70 lines
14 KiB
Markdown
# Land Back Wikipedia
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Movement by Indigenous people in North America to reclaim lands
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Land back graffiti with [anarchist](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchist "Anarchist") symbology and an unrelated artist, 2020
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**Land Back**, also referred to with [hashtag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hashtag_activism "Hashtag activism") **#LandBack**, is a decentralised campaign that emerged in the late 2010s among [Indigenous Australians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australians "Indigenous Australians"), [Indigenous peoples in Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_peoples_in_Canada "Indigenous peoples in Canada"), [Native Americans in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_Americans_in_the_United_States "Native Americans in the United States"), other indigenous peoples and allies who seek to reestablish [Indigenous sovereignty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_sovereignty "Indigenous sovereignty"), with political and economic control of their ancestral lands. Activists have also used the Land Back framework in Mexico, and scholars have applied it in New Zealand and Fiji. Land Back is part of a broader Indigenous movement for [decolonization](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization "Decolonization").
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Land Back banner at a protest in [Washington, D.C.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_D.C. "Washington, D.C."), 2024
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Land Back aims to reestablish Indigenous political authority over territories that Indigenous tribes claim by treaty. Scholars from the Indigenous-run Yellowhead Institute at [Toronto Metropolitan University](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ryerson_University "Ryerson University") describe it as a process of reclaiming Indigenous jurisdiction. The [NDN Collective](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NDN_Collective "NDN Collective") describes it as synonymous with [decolonisation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decolonization "Decolonization") and dismantling [white supremacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_supremacy "White supremacy"). Land Back advocates for Indigenous rights, preserves languages and traditions, and works toward [food sovereignty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_sovereignty "Food sovereignty"), decent housing, and a clean environment.
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In the United States, the contemporary Land Back Movement began as early as the 1960s, when the American Indian Party candidate for U.S. president ran on a platform of giving land back to Native Americans.
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Land Back was introduced in 2018 by Arnell Tailfeathers, a member of the [Blood Tribe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Tribe "Blood Tribe"), a nation within the [Blackfoot Confederacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blackfoot_Confederacy "Blackfoot Confederacy"). It then quickly became a hashtag (#LandBack), and now appears in artwork, on clothes and in [beadwork](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beadwork "Beadwork"). These creations are often used to raise funds to support [water protectors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_protectors "Water protectors") and [land defenders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_defender "Land defender") who protest against oil pipelines in North America.
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The [Black Hills land claim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills_land_claim "Black Hills land claim") and [protests at Mount Rushmore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore_Fireworks_Celebration_2020 "Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration 2020") during [Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump_2020_presidential_campaign "Donald Trump 2020 presidential campaign") were a catalyzing moment for the movement in the United States.
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The NDN Collective describes the Land Back campaign as a metanarrative that ties together many different Indigenous organizations similar to the [Black Lives Matter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Lives_Matter "Black Lives Matter") campaign. They say that the campaign enables decentralised Indigenous leadership and addresses [structural racism](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Structural_racism "Structural racism") faced by Indigenous people that is rooted in theft of their land.
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Land Back promotes a return to communal land ownership of traditional and unceded Indigenous lands and rejects colonial concepts of real estate and private land ownership. Return of land is not only economic, but also implies the return of relationships and self-governance.
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In some cases Land Back promotes a land tax that seeks to collect revenue on people who are of non-indigenous origins.
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Other forms of Land Back involve indigenous communities managing National Parks or Federal Lands.
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In some cases, land is directly returned to Indigenous people when private landowners, municipalities, or governments give the land back to Indigenous tribes. This may take the form of a simple transaction within the colonial real estate framework.
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Indigenous-led projects may also use [community land trusts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_land_trust "Community land trust") to reserve lands for their group.
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In 2020, electronic music group [A Tribe Called Red](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Tribe_Called_Red "A Tribe Called Red") produced a song "Land Back" on their album *[The Halluci Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Halluci_Nation "The Halluci Nation")*, to support the [Wetʼsuwetʼen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wet%CA%BCsuwet%CA%BCen "Wetʼsuwetʼen") resistance camp and other Indigenous-led movements. In July 2020, activists from NDN Collective held [a protest on a highway leading to Mount Rushmore](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Rushmore_Fireworks_Celebration_2020 "Mount Rushmore Fireworks Celebration 2020"), where Donald Trump was to give a campaign speech. The site, known to the Sioux in English as "The Six Grandfathers," is on sacred, unceded land, subject to the [Black Hills land claim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hills_land_claim "Black Hills land claim"). These protestors drafted the "Land Back Manifesto", which seeks "the reclamation of everything stolen from the original Peoples". Also in 2020, [Haudenosaunee people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haudenosaunee "Haudenosaunee") from the [Six Nations of the Grand River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Six_Nations_of_the_Grand_River "Six Nations of the Grand River") blockaded [1492 Land Back Lane](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1492_Land_Back_Lane "1492 Land Back Lane") to shut down a housing development on their unceded territory.
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In 2021, [Nicholas Galanin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Galanin "Nicholas Galanin") ([Tlingit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tlingit "Tlingit")/[Unangax](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unangax "Unangax")) created a gigantic "Indian Land" sign – in letters reminiscent of southern California's [Hollywood sign](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Sign "Hollywood Sign") – at the entry for the Desert X festival. On July 4, 2021, in [Rapid City, South Dakota](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapid_City,_South_Dakota "Rapid City, South Dakota"), a city very close to the [Pine Ridge Indian Reservation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pine_Ridge_Indian_Reservation "Pine Ridge Indian Reservation"), four people were arrested after climbing a structure downtown and hanging an [upside-down](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distress_signal#Inverted_flags "Distress signal") [US flag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_flag "US flag") emblazoned with the words "Land Back".
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The [Wiyot people](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiyot "Wiyot") have lived for thousands of years on [Duluwat Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duluwat_Island "Duluwat Island"), in [Humboldt Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humboldt_Bay "Humboldt Bay") on California's northern coast. In 2004 the [Eureka](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eureka,_California "Eureka, California") City Council transferred land back to the Wiyot tribe, to add to land the Wiyot had purchased. The council transferred another 60 acres (24 ha) in 2006.
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The [Mashpee Wampanoag](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashpee_Wampanoag_Tribe "Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe") have lived in [Massachusetts](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts "Massachusetts") and eastern [Rhode Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhode_Island "Rhode Island") for thousands of years. In 2007, about 300 acres (1.2 km<sup>2</sup>) of Massachusetts land was put into trust as a reservation for the tribe. Since then, a legal battle has left the tribe's status—and claim to the land—in limbo.
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In 2016 Dr. Mohan Singh Virick, a Punjabi [Sikh](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sikh "Sikh") doctor who served Indigenous people in [Cape Breton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Breton_Island "Cape Breton Island") for 50 years, donated 350 acres (140 ha) of land to [Eskasoni First Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eskasoni_First_Nation "Eskasoni First Nation"). He also donated a building in Sydney to help house Eskasoni's growing population.
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In October 2018, the city of [Vancouver](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver "Vancouver"), [British Columbia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Columbia "British Columbia") returned ancient burial site (the [Great Marpole Midden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Marpole_Midden "Great Marpole Midden")) land back to the [Musqueam](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musqueam "Musqueam") people. The land is home to ancient remains of a Musqueam house site.
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In 2019, the [United Methodist Church](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Methodist_Church "United Methodist Church") gave 3 acres (1.2 ha) of historic land back to the [Wyandotte Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wyandotte_Nation "Wyandotte Nation") of [Oklahoma](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma "Oklahoma"). The US government in 1819 had promised the tribe 148,000 acres (600 km<sup>2</sup>) of land in what is now Kansas City, Kansas. When 664 Wyandotte people arrived, the land had been given to someone else.
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In July 2020, an organization of self-identified [Esselen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esselen "Esselen") descendants purchased a 1,200-acre ranch (4.9 km<sup>2</sup>) near [Big Sur](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Sur "Big Sur"), [California](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California "California"), as part of a larger $4.5m deal. This acquisition, in historical Esselen lands, aims to protect [old-growth forest](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old-growth_forest "Old-growth forest") and wildlife, and the Little Sur River.
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Land on the [Saanich Peninsula](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saanich_Peninsula "Saanich Peninsula") in British Columbia was returned to the [Tsartlip First Nation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsartlip_First_Nation "Tsartlip First Nation") in December 2020.
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Management of the 18,800-acre (76 km<sup>2</sup>) [National Bison Range](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Bison_Range "National Bison Range") was transferred from the [U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Fish_and_Wildlife_Service "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service") back to the [Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederated_Salish_and_Kootenai_Tribes "Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes") in 2021.
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In August 2022, the [Red Cliff Chippewa](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Cliff_Band_of_Lake_Superior_Chippewa "Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa") in northern [Wisconsin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin "Wisconsin") had 1,500 acres (6.1 km<sup>2</sup>) of land along the [Lake Superior](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior "Lake Superior") shoreline returned to them from the [Bayfield County](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bayfield_County,_Wisconsin "Bayfield County, Wisconsin") government. This came after the tribe signed a 2017 memorandum of understanding with the county, acknowledging the Red Cliff Chippewa's desire to see their reservation boundaries restored in full.
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In October 2022, a 1-acre site was returned to the [Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongva_Taraxat_Paxaavxa_Conservancy "Tongva Taraxat Paxaavxa Conservancy") by a private resident in [Altadena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altadena,_California "Altadena, California"), which marked the first time the [Tongva](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tongva "Tongva") had land in [Los Angeles County](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_County,_California "Los Angeles County, California") in 200 years.
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In 2024, the [Government of British Columbia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_of_British_Columbia "Government of British Columbia") transferred the title of more than 200 islands off Canada's west coast to the Haida people, recognizing the nation's aboriginal land title throughout [Haida Gwaii](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haida_Gwaii "Haida Gwaii").
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- [Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_Buy-Back_Program_for_Tribal_Nations "Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations")
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- [Indigenous Land Rights](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_land_rights "Indigenous land rights") ([in Australia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_land_rights_in_Australia "Indigenous land rights in Australia"), [in Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_land_claims_in_Canada "Indigenous land claims in Canada"))
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- [Aboriginal title in the United States](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aboriginal_title_in_the_United_States "Aboriginal title in the United States")
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- [Republic of Lakotah proposal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Lakotah_proposal "Republic of Lakotah proposal")
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- [The Land Back Campaign](https://landback.org/), NDN Collective
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- [The Halluci Nation - Land Back Ft. Boogey The Beat & Northern Voice (Official Audio)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67F7WbcTQKA) by A Tribe Called Red
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- [100 years of land struggle](https://briarpatchmagazine.com/articles/view/100-years-of-land-struggle) (Canada) |