Day 25. Restoring the Sacred – Land Back and Healing Movements.
The phrase “Land Back” is often misunderstood. It is not simply a call for ownership, it is a call for restoration of relationship. Land Back means ceremony returned, languages spoken again, ancestors remembered, and future generations rooted in belonging.
From the return of the Black Hills to the Oceti Sakowin to the legal personhood of rivers in Aotearoa (New Zealand), movements for land restoration are acts of spiritual healing. They remind us that land is not property; it is relative.
For faith communities, this means moving beyond land acknowledgments into active reciprocity: supporting Indigenous stewardship, reparations, and policy advocacy. Healing the land means healing ourselves.
“The land is not broken; it is waiting for us to remember.” – Winona LaDuke
Reflection: What steps can your community take toward reparative relationship with Indigenous lands?
Learn More
- Read the Cultural Survival article Restoring Relationships with Lands and Returning Stewardship to Indigenous Hands by Hartman Deetz, a Mashpee Wampanoag who has been active in environmental and cultural stewardship for over 20 years. Their stewardship is based on his spiritual foundation in his Native traditions that value the earth as a living being. Deetz is also returning to his work with the Wampanoag Language Reclamation Program as a student and teacher. Deetz is a traditional artist as well as singer and dancer, having shown his art in galleries from coast to coast across the US.
- Follow the LandBack campaign
- Read As Long As Grass Grows by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
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