September/October 2020

When we say “Land Back” we want the system that is land to be alive so that it can perpetuate itself, and perpetuate us as an extension of itself. That’s what we want back: our place in keeping land alive and spiritually connected. 

An interview with Elder Jo-Ann Saddleback about Land Back, matriarchy, democracy, and decolonization.

Settlers have a lot of questions about Land Back: What does it mean? Who will the land be given back to? How will it be governed? Will settlers be forced to leave the continent? Brooks Arcand-Paul and Nickita Longman help clear up some of the frequently asked questions about the Land Back movement.

A timeline of Land Back events from the past century

The land has always been here and Indigenous Peoples have always been reclaiming parts of it. So Canada’s challenge is how to keep us off of it, and how to keep us from holding onto the idea that it’s right for us to reclaim it.

From land trusts to mushroom permitting, here are some examples of what Land Back looks like on the ground

Molly Swain and Chelsea Vowel of Métis in Space discuss Métis futurisms and how they started their Land Back project.

European political traditions would have us believe that being sovereign means asserting exclusive control over a territory, whereas Prairie NDN political traditions teach us that it is through our relationship with others that we are sovereign.

In all of our interviews with nêhiyawêwin-speaking Elders, learners, and teachers across Treaty 6, we learned that the land is integral to Indigenous language revitalization, as the land and the language are inherently and intrinsically connected.

To make the link between hunting, land use, and Land Back, Alex Wilson spoke to three Indigenous women hunters about patriarchy, spirituality, and the joys of being on the land. 

Indigenous sex workers continue to pave the way for sexual liberation. How is this fundamental to Land Back?

I wonder what it would mean to walk freely on my own lands without fear of surveillance by white prairie settlers and criminalization by the institutions that serve their interests.

Historically, Black and Indigenous trans women were honoured within our communities. Today, Land Back means undoing transmisogyny in our movements and restoring the cultural importance of non-colonial gender identities.

An interview with Ginnifer Menominee on treaty holders, ceremonial jurisdiction, and Land Back in Guelph.

Why the Canadian government and industry are doing everything they can to avoid consulting with hereditary leadership on Wet’suwet’en yintah

After a long legacy of power and control by Parks Canada, this story imagines how Lands and Peoples could once again live in healthy reciprocity.

An interview with Haisla/Heiltsuk author Eden Robinson about her relationship to land, the importance of independent journalism in covering Indigenous movements, and why she donates monthly to Briarpatch.