Landback is the process of returning land to Indigenous peoples. Returning land is important because Indigenous peoples are systematically excluded from land ownership — the primary vehicle for accumulating security and wealth in the United States. 

Indigenous peoples feel accountable as the land’s first caretakers. Landback, or rematriation, honors our unique role as land and water protectors.

The Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery launched a landback fund in November. It began when one of our members, Meghan, purchased a house. She asked how she could ­acknowledge that buying land is a privilege and that the home she purchased is on land unjustly taken from Indigenous peoples. She suggested that she could voluntarily impose a tax on the purchase and that we could encourage others who want to acknowledge the impact of settler colonialism to do the same. 

Most of the time, only people with property or significant wealth participate in landback. Meghan invited us to a vision where small donations from many people would be pooled and given to Indigenous partners who could then buy land. 

Meghan’s vision resonated with many Christians. One family gave the inaugural gift in memory of a beloved relative and encouraged others to do the same. They voiced relief at being part of a collective effort that enables us to be part of a movement larger than any one of us. 

Our community gave swiftly and generously. I am reminded of the promise of Jubilee described in Leviticus 26 and reiterated in Isaiah 61 — where land is returned to original owners, those held in bondage are released and debts are canceled. 

Jubilee is a process of justly reordering human systems. The scriptural vision of Jubilee acknowledges that for a society to enjoy justice and peace, this reset must happen regularly. 

In the coalition, we work to end systemic inequity. We gather those who have ears to hear. We prepare, train and accompany those who make concrete Jesus’ call to radical equity expressed in Luke 4. 

Here Jesus refers to the “day of our Lord’s favor” — the vision of Jubilee expressed by Isaiah, who called for bestowing upon the oppressed “a crown of beauty instead of ashes” (Isaiah 61:3, NIV).

While we work for this future day, we also work alongside Indigenous communities in their liberative movements right now. This is where our landback program fits in. While we work across generations for lasting change, we must also address the needs of those who suffer today. 

My friend John compares this two-pronged approach to the Underground Railroad — the pre-Civil War network of those who accompanied enslaved people across state lines to where it was possible to be free. The Underground Railroad did not end slavery. Systemic action did that. The Underground Railroad did, however, equip people to cross borders while the institution of slavery was still in force. 

In the coalition, we do both. We work for systemic change while accompanying those oppressed by the Doctrine of Discovery as they seek to liberate land from the bonds of systemic injustice. But doing so does not end the Doctrine of Discovery. Only systemic work can do that. 

HOw can we harness this groundswell to rematriate land and work to change systems? What if our friends, neighbors and kin who contribute to the landback fund would designate 25% of these funds for systemic work? 

Systemic work is the coalition’s primary task. It includes legislative and judicial campaigns like liberation for Oak Flat land in Arizona, healing for boarding school survivors and their communities and upholding the Indian Child Welfare Act. 

We are also organizing over decades to dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery, which is baked into our legal and policy system. 

Designating a portion of landback contributions to systemic work ensures we can continue to work for liberation across generations while collaborating with Indigenous partners to liberate land now — “rebuilding the ancient ruins” (Isaiah 61:4) by participating in Jubilee.