Land Back
So, whose Land is it anyway?
“Aboriginal title to specific lands, it is argued, does not exist until it has been proven in a court of law This argument is wrong because it rests on a rebuttable presumption that the Aboriginal peoples didn't occupy and use the lands when Canada Was Colonized by Europeans, when we all know the opposite to be true.”
Some may have heard the term “Land Back” and may wonder what it means. The words ‘Land Back’ may seem obvious, yet, they include a complex and intergenerational web of Indigenous ideas or movements. It could mean numerous things such as:
the immediate and literal restoration of land ownership to First Nations;
reaffirming connection to the land which is more than stewardship, sustainability and protection of certain lands and Mother Earth;
Fulfilling treaty rights, land claims and the land question, and self-governing agreements for self-determination.
No matter what meaning is attached to the words `Land Back’, First Nations have the right to reconnect with their traditional territories in very deep and meaningful ways.
A majority of B.C. is built on unceded Indigenous land, which means that it does not have a treaty attached to the land, or a right to control over that land... BC’s legal foundation is on uncertain footing and this is consistently being tested in the courts. In fact, Troy Hunter has asserted that in this Vancouver Sun article,
“Since B.C. has failed to disencumber the majority of Indian title in the province and to reconcile with all of the First Nations through treaties or otherwise, it’s only a matter of time that more land is removed from provincial jurisdiction by way of aboriginal title court declarations and for that matter, the land question may become a major going concern for all British Columbians”.
Thus, an Economic Reconciliation framework specific to BC is paramount given the legal, cultural and justice considerations of this region. And the time is now for all British Columbians to seriously partake in all things related to Economic Reconciliation. It has been formulating in the minds of many throughout many systems and has been driven home by many Indigenous leaders, First Nations, Indigenous entities, and the like for some time now. This framework is built on their thought leadership, commitments and actions and is written to encapsulate as much of it as possible, to demonstrate the reality of the work ahead and to build upon the foundation being laid.
“Land is a fundamental asset for sustainable economic development. This is no different for Indigenous communities in Canada and it is a reason why land rights are critical for self-determination. However, land is much beyond just an economic asset for Indigenous peoples. Land provides sustenance for current and future generations; it is connected to spiritual beliefs, traditional knowledge and teachings; it is fundamental to cultural reproduction; moreover, commonly held land rights reinforce nationhood.”
Linking Indigenous Communities with Regional Development in Canada
From the origins of settler colonialism to the era of reconciliation, land remains at the centre of the conflict between Indigenous peoples and Canadians. So, what could a just future look like? Yellowhead Institutes Red Paper, ‘Land Back’ answers this question by breaking down the current status of land dispossession in Canada, focusing on alienation through resource extraction. Also, this Yellowhead Institute Red Paper examines various forms of redress, and recognition, and ends with examples of reclamation — meaningful Indigenous economies outside of state policies and legislation. This Red Paper is ultimately about Indigenous consent.
Yellowhead Institute’s first Red Paper considers in very specific detail the existing land and resource strategies of federal and provincial governments, with reference to their interface of Indigenous law and Aboriginal rights and title. They ask a number of broad questions:
WHAT REGIMES of consent have been practiced by Canada, if any, and what does land restitution look like for First Nations in the context of these regimes?
HOW DO THE Crown and industry dispossess Indigenous peoples of land and waters today?
WHY ARE THE CROWN’S current consent regimes failing to protect Indigenous interests in the land?
HOW CAN INDIGENOUS PEOPLE re-assert jurisdiction to lands and waters outside of reserve boundaries?
WHAT MODELS of Indigenous Governance Centre community-based decisions on land/water use and cultural resurgence?
This analysis finds that there are three approaches to consent being practiced in Canada toward Indigenous jurisdiction and they fall along a spectrum of denial, recognition, and reclamation. Each of these approaches, described in greater depth below, provides the framework of this report:
PART ONE: SPECTRUM OF CONSENT
A framework to understand how Indigenous consent is ignored, coerced, negotiated, or enforced.
PART TWO: DENIAL
The strategies deployed to dispossess Indigenous people of the land.
PART THREE: RECOGNITION
The limited land management rights offered to Indigenous peoples by the Crown and industry.
PART FOUR: RECLAMATION
Community-based strategies of consent-based jurisdiction.
CONCLUSION: THE CONTINUATION OF LIFE
An argument for why Indigenous jurisdiction matters in the midst of an ongoing climate crisis.
Ultimately, we assert that land restitution for First Nations
requires political and economic transformation.
So, the matter of land back is not merely a matter of justice, rights or “reconciliation”; like the United Nations, we believe that Indigenous jurisdiction can indeed help mitigate the loss
of biodiversity and climate crisis. In the Canadian context, the practices and philosophies profiled here as case studies contain answers to global questions. Canada—and states generally must listen.
This Red Paper concludes with the following, “It is important to conclude this Red Paper reflecting the enormity and severity of the challenges we face, but also to consider some of the case studies included here as gestures toward a future, rooted in justice and consent. Indigenous-led solutions exist. While we all grapple with structural conditions that stall genuine transformations of our relationships to the land, water, and each other, there are signs Indigenous people are being heard. The efforts described here, to get land back, represent a movement towards hope.”
Land back, cash back, water back, culture back, language back, and so on are just movements of restoration and reconciliation for Indigenous Peoples and require all Canadians to navigate these spaces through support, learning, unlearning, understanding, patience and empathy as we gain back what was lost due to colonization, genocide and ongoing oppression of our People in this land known as Canada.
Learn more about Land Back:
CBC Unreserved
Land back, two words that have become popular at rallies, gatherings and protests across Canada. Today on Unreserved, what does it mean to give land back to Indigenous communities?
Land back: Movement to reclaim Indigenous land grows
Yellowhead Institute
Land Back Community Tools and Resources
Weaponizing Injunctions: How Canada criminalizes Indigenous land defense
As Canada moves towards a strategy of sectoral self-governance —slowly deconstructing the Indian Act rather than negotiating all-encompassing self- governance agreements —the management of reserve lands is becoming a critical component of this model and a supposed means for First Nations to ‘catch up’ to the speed of business and build prosperity for their communities.
The Rise of the First Nations Land Management Regime in Canada: A Critical Analysis
Yellowhead Institute’s Land Back report delivers a devastating critique of land dispossession in Canada. Data shows First Nations overwhelmingly lose in the courts to corporations and government.
David Suzuki Foundation
Land Back is an Indigenous-led movement with a rich and complex meaning. In the words of Isaac Murdoch, “Land Back is people returning back and finding their place in those systems of life.”
As NDN Collective, we are stepping into this legacy with the launch of a LANDBACK Campaign as a mechanism to connect, coordinate, resource and amplify this movement and the communities that are fighting for LANDBACK.
