Indigenous Land Back

Today, I'd like for us to read this article from National Geographic about forest gardens.

If your lineage has never been colonized, it might be hard to grasp why #LandBack matters so much. Some people might see it long overdue; some might see it as unfair. So let's start with climate-related evidence: Native land stewardship can outdo nature. Climate change is exponentially worsening, and if we know that Indigenous people are much better at managing land than colonizers have been for the past couple centuries, well... there's only one logical conclusion.

Here are some key takeaways from the article so we can understand why LandBack is necessary:

• Humans can make our surroundings better. Native land stewards have proven this: 'After more than a century on their own, Indigenous-created forest gardens of the Pacific Northwest support more pollinators, more seed-eating animals and more plant species than the supposedly “natural” conifer forests surrounding them.'
  
  
• Our perception of "natural land" stems from Indigenous erasure. You know how scientists and naturalists talk about "natural" or "pristine" land? Well, a lot of this land was actually human-managed. It's just that these humans were often... to put it lightly, kicked out. And never talked about again. One popular example of the "pristine nature" myth: the Amazon rainforest was stewarded by people for thousands of years.
  
  
• Anthropogenic ≠ bad. Have you heard of "anthropogenic climate change"? It means human-caused climate change, and this word is usually associated with humans doing bad stuff. But Indigenous people shaped ~3/4ths of the Earth's land for millennia. Biodiversity loss only accelerated with colonization. The problem is our practices, not our humanity.

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We have to stop waiting for Western scientists to catch up with what Indigenous people have been saying for decades. Native land stewards have been watching out for the Earth before the scientific method was even a thing. It's time for #LandBack.

Ok so maybe everyone knew this except for me, but today is the first day of my life that I knew Canada is actually a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II calls the shots (ok not really because that's not how things work. But still...).

The video I'm sharing in our LISTEN module today dropped such shocking knowledge in just 4 minutes, and it's helping me understand the extent of the problem that #LANDBACK is trying to solve.

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(Editor's note: this article was published in 2021 before Queen Elizabeth's death. Read on!)

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Today, watch this 4 min video explaining why LANDBACK matters. This vid focuses on Canada and we have a global readership, but I chose it because it's a solid, historically-based explanation for how big of an issue land theft is.

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3 key takeaways from today's video:

1. Indian reserves (Native land that Canada formally recognizes) accounts for only 0.2% of Canada. For perspective, the Navajo Nation, one of the US's Indigenous reservations, is larger than ALL of Canada's reserves combined.
   
2. Nearly all of Canada is OWNED BY THE BRITISH MONARCHY! Sorry if I'm just ignorant, but I actually had to pause the video and gasp upon learning that 89% of Canada's land is "Crown Land." The. queen. is. the. landlord.
   
   Dear Canadian Soapbox subscribers, I apologize if this is a fact even babies know. But I DID NOT?
   
3. The government's own royal commissions support calls for #LandBack. Even Canada's Supreme Court has ruled in favor of "Aboriginal Title", which recognizes Indigenous land sovereignty. Buuut, the Canadian government refuses to implement these court decisions. They're openly defying their own laws.

So to summarize, Canada is owned by the queen basically and land theft is still ongoing. What a world we live in!

Less cynically, our fireside chat speaker, Sara Calvosa Olson, who's a Native food writer in California, said the #LANDBACK movement is the biggest source of hope and optimism for her. Next module, we'll talk more about the actions we can take.

There are only 3 easy homeworks for you for this module, and the 2nd one has brought me a lot of joy already.
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1. Find out whose land you're on (& pay "rent"). You can use Native-Land.Ca and/or Whose.Land to find out how to support land restitution efforts where you live, including paying "rent". These maps are global but not perfect. Knowing whose land you're on can help you contact local tribal leaders who will tell you how best to use your time/resources for change. If you don't see your area on the map, look at action #3 for a way to contribute regardless of where you live.
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2. Download the iNaturalist app. In our recent fireside chat with Native food writer Sara Calvosa Olson, she said a fundamental cultural shift we have to make is our relationship with nature. Our neighbors include the plants and animals that live outside, and often, we don't even know their names! If you saw a person every day if your life and didn't know who they were, wouldn't that be weird? Get the iNaturalist app, which can help you identify nature in your area. If you're not an app person, just spend some time with a new plant neighbor.
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3. Donate $25 to the First Nations Development Institute. Your donation will help return Indigenous lands to Indigenous hands and promote land stewardship. Remember - to heal our planet, we need to ensure it's in the care of the right people.

Before we go any further, it's time for you to pledge your commitment. It takes less than 30 seconds to pledge and we can bother you about it in a friendly way, so we can hold each other accountable. Pledge here!

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🎯 Action step 4 of 4: REFLECT — what can you commit to? What fresh perspectives can we look at?

As we wrap up our #LandBack module, we should think about how to make land stewardship and restitution a meaningful, ongoing part of our lives.

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Here are three places to start:

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• First, here's our Soapbox 2021 holiday gift guide. Of course, this is not a direct "land back" action, but especially since we're in the most consumerist time of the year, let's think about gifts that actually matter and can give back to our planet.
• As more and more gatherings happen around food, it's also important to understand where our food actually comes from. This thread from United Farm Workers breaks down the types of tasks farm workers do, and how they get paid (or don't get paid) for their labor.
• Finally, here's 10 essential Native American recipes!

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Thanks for joining us on this action journey.

‍🏁 Checkpoint: This is the end of action step 4 of 4: REFLECT.

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Check out our membership community for more resources like free weekly events with social justice experts, sustainable product discounts, pre-written email templates, a social impact job board, and in-person hangouts with new friends. Thanks for taking action with Soapbox Project!