Land back
Land back is an Indigenous movement that strives to build decision-making power and autonomy, including access to their territories and resources in a more equitable way; not just about the physical returning of the land, but the confronting of colonialism at its root. - Jessie Wente & 4Rs Youth Movement.
It is also a set of ideas and movements developed by Indigenous peoples in an urge to reconnect and regain control over with their land in a meaningful way. Land Back is about "self-determination for our Peoples here that should include some access to the territories and resources in a more equitable fashion, and for us to have control over how that actually looks." -Jessie Wente [1]
What is land?
What is referred to as the “land” in “Land Back” goes beyond Western legal interpretations, notably including the spiritual damages caused by the removal of Indigenous communities from their traditional land and water. -Yellowhead Institute Red paper [2]
“The vision of Indigenous people, or at least the Anishinaabe people, has always been looking at the land as a basket or a bowl. We all live in that bowl, we share the spoon, we pass it to one another, and we eat from it together. And so there's nothing in an Anishinaabe perspective about living on the land without other people.” -Hayden King [3]
Learn more about the past, present and future of land governance in so-called Canada.
Exploring Land back
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