Overview
#LandBack is an Indigenous sovereignty movement demanding the return of ancestral lands to Native stewardship, gaining momentum from Standing Rock resistance and evolving into a framework for decolonization and environmental justice.
Origins (2018-2019)
Concept Roots
- Builds on centuries of Indigenous resistance, treaty rights
- Coined by Lakota activists during Standing Rock aftermath
- Literal demand: Return stolen land to Native nations
- Framework for Indigenous self-determination, environmental protection
Early Organizing
- 2018: Indigenous Climate Action summit in Canada
- NDN Collective (Lakota-led nonprofit) adopted as core campaign
- Linked to broader Indigenous rights movements globally
What Land Back Means
Literal Land Return
- Federal lands (national parks on tribal territory) returned to Native management
- Restoration of treaty-guaranteed lands
- Urban land acknowledgments paired with action (not just words)
Beyond Land Ownership
- Co-management of public lands
- Free, prior, and informed consent for resource extraction
- Reparations for stolen resources
- Indigenous knowledge in conservation, climate solutions
Not “Kicking Everyone Out”
- Framed as restoration of stewardship, not mass displacement
- Non-Native people could remain under Indigenous governance
- Focus on healing, relationship repair, not revenge
Key Moments
2020: Mount Rushmore Protests
- July 4, 2020: Trump rally at Mount Rushmore (Black Hills, sacred Lakota land)
- #LandBack protesters blocked roads, set up camps
- NDN Collective launched LandBack campaign officially
- Highlighted that monument is carved into stolen land
2021: Biden Appointments
- Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo) became first Native Interior Secretary
- Seen as potential ally for Land Back goals
- Grand Staircase-Escalante, Bears Ears National Monuments restored (tribal consultation)
Actual Land Returns
- 2020: Esselen Tribe reclaimed 1,200 acres in California (Big Sur)
- 2021: Passamaquoddy returned 30,000 acres in Maine
- 2022: Sicangu Lakota reacquired bison range in South Dakota
- Most returns via private nonprofits, not federal government
Cultural Spread
Land Acknowledgments
- Now common at events, zoom calls, conferences
- Critics (including some Indigenous people) call them performative without action
- #LandBack pushes: “Acknowledgment is the beginning, not the end”
Mutual Aid & Reparations
- Solidarity rent: Non-Natives pay local tribes monthly
- Shuumi Land Tax (Ohlone territory, San Francisco Bay Area)
- Indigenous Mutual Aid groups formed during COVID-19
Environmental Coalitions
- Indigenous land management recognized as climate solution
- Traditional controlled burns prevent megafires
- Salmon restoration, bison reintroduction
Opposition & Challenges
Conservative Backlash
- “They want to take your backyard” fear-mongering
- Property rights absolutism
- Mount Rushmore as “American heritage” vs. stolen land
Practical Barriers
- Federal law makes land return complicated
- State governments often resistant
- Tribal sovereignty limited by U.S. legal framework
Internal Debates
- Urban Natives vs. reservation-based priorities
- Which lands to prioritize
- How to handle non-Native people on returned land
Wins & Progress
Public Lands Co-Management
- Bears Ears National Monument (Utah): Tribal co-management with feds
- Forest Service, Park Service consulting tribes more
- Bison, salmon restoration projects led by tribes
Private Land Returns
- The Conservation Fund, Nature Conservancy buying land for tribes
- Crowd-funded purchases (e.g., Black Hills land buy)
Cultural Shift
- Younger generation learns real history (not sanitized “Thanksgiving” myths)
- Non-Natives increasingly aware of treaty violations
- “Stolen land” framing mainstream in progressive spaces
Broader Decolonization
Beyond North America
- Māori in Aotearoa/New Zealand reclaiming land
- Aboriginal Australians demanding reparations, land rights
- Sámi reindeer herding rights in Scandinavia
- Global Indigenous solidarity networks
Intersections
- Abolition (U.S. colonization linked to slavery)
- Climate justice (Indigenous peoples protect 80% of biodiversity on 20% of land)
- Disability justice (many disabled Indigenous people due to environmental racism)