LANDBACK Movement Introduction

The following is an explanation of the LANDBACK Movement LANDBACK.ORG

LANDBACK is a movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands. Currently, there are LANDBACK battles being fought all across Turtle Island, to the north and the South.

As NDN Collective, we are stepping into this legacy with the launch of the LANDBACK Campaign as a mechanism to connect, coordinate, resource and amplify this movement and the communities that are fighting for LANDBACK. The closure of Mount Rushmore, return of that land and all public lands in the Black Hills, South Dakota is our cornerstone battle, from which we will build out this campaign. Not only does Mount Rushmore sit in the heart of the sacred Black Hills, but it is an international symbol of white supremacy and colonization. To truly dismantle white supremacy and systems of oppression, we have to go back to the roots. Which, for us, is putting Indigneous Lands back in Indigenous hands.

The closure of Mount Rushmore, return of that land and all public lands in the Black Hills, South Dakota is our cornerstone battle, from which we will build out this campaign.

In addition, LANDBACK is more than just a campaign. It is a meta narrative that allows us to deepen our relationships across the field of organizing movements working towards true collective liberation. It allows us to envision a world where Black, Indigenous & POC liberation co-exists. It is our political, organizing and narrative framework from which we do the work.

On July 3, 2020, Land Defenders took to Mt.Rushmore to reignite the fight for the Black Hills and the closure of Mt. Rushmore, a symbol of white supremacy and racism. Now, 21 of those Land Defenders who stood in defense of the sacred Ȟesápa, the ancestral homelands of Lakota and many other Indigenous Nations, are facing criminal charges.Inspired by the action taken that day, NDN Collective has developed the LANDBACK campaign, a mutli-faceted campaign to get Indigenous lands back into Indigenous hands, and empower Indigenous people across Turtle Island with the tools and strategies to do LANDBACK work in their own communities.The LANDBACK Campaign will officially launch on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, October 12, 2020.

In the meantime, here are our Calls-to-Action:

• Watch and share this video
• Sign this petition demanding Mount Rushmore be closed and ALL public lands in the Black Hills returned to its original Peoples.
• Donate to the LANDBACK Campaign
• Sign up to be the first to receive notifications about the campaign launch

Campaign demands

• Dismantle — white supremacy structures that forcefully removed us from our Lands and continue to keep our Peoples in oppression.
  • Bureau of Land Management, National Parks Service
• Defund — white supremacy and the mechanisms and systems that enforce it and disconnect us from stewardship of the Land.
  • Police, military industrial complex, Border Patrol, ICE
• Return — All public lands back into Indigenous hands.
• Consent — Moving us out of an era of consultation and into a new era of policy around Free and Prior Informed Consent

Organizing principles

• Don’t burn bridges: even when there is conflict between groups or organizers remember that we are fighting for all of our peoples and we will continue to be in community even after this battle
• Don’t defend our ways 
• Organize to win 
• Move from abundance – We come from a space of scarcity. We must work from a place of  abundance
• We bring our people with us 
• Deep relationships by attraction, not promotion 
• Divest/invest
• We value our warriors
• Room for grace- be able to be human  
• We cannot let our oppressors inhumanity take away from ours 
• Strategy includes guidance 
• Realness: Sometimes the truth hurts
• Unapologetic but keep is classy

#landback #DefendDevelopDecolonize