NDN Collective and Land Justice

At NDN Collective, our mission is to build the collective power of Indigenous peoples, communities, and Nations to exercise our inherent right to self-determination, while fostering a world that is built on a foundation of justice and equity for all people and Mother Earth or Uncí Maká (Grandmother Earth in Lakota).

In our work as a collective, land justice is the foundation of everything we do. We call this LANDBACK. Landback is the meta-political, organizing, and narrative framework through which we work toward collective liberation, for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. We understand that our struggles, cultural lifeways, and histories are directly connected to those of our Black relatives, who, to this day, continue to fight for liberation, healing, and reparations.

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What is Landback?

• It is a reciprocal relationship with Mother Earth that is symbiotic and just, where we reclaim stewardship.
• It is bringing our people with us as we move towards liberation and embodied sovereignty through an organizing, political, and narrative framework.
• It is a long legacy of warriors and leaders who sacrificed freedom and life.
• It is a catalyst for the current generation of organizers and centers the voices of those who represent our future.
• It is recognizing that our struggle is interconnected with the struggles of all oppressed peoples. It is a future where Black reparations and Indigenous Landback co-exist. Where BIPOC collective liberation is at the core.
• It is acknowledging that only when Mother Earth is well, can we, her children, be well. It is our belonging to the land – because – we are the land.
• We’re not challenging issues; we’re tackling systems that the colonial project implemented and are clearly not working.

Before colonization, our peoples had sustainable food systems, lush biodiversity, and thriving economies that were grounded in complex knowledge systems and teachings. These teachings were passed down through our ancestors' oral storytelling. Before colonial boundaries, we roamed freely, and migrated when resources and landscapes shifted. We shared knowledge, food, medicines, and stories.

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There is strength in our collective and ancestral knowledge. From the East Coast, where the Passamoquoddy Tribe is revitalizing traditional Eel harvesting, to the Great Plains, where Bison herds are being restored, to the West Coast, where dams are being broken down to give way for the return of the Salmon, our traditional teachings have always been in direct connection to Mother Earth and her children.

To our Black brothers and sisters, we see you fighting for a better world. A world that we know from experience will exist again, and we will remain by your side just as we did before colonization.

We are LANDBACK. We are a people who are of and from this land.

To learn more about our work, tune in to our Podcast “Landback For the People,” available on most streaming platforms.