Our Approach
Land Back
When we use the term Land Back, we are talking about actions that reestablish and strengthen Indian peoples’ ability to access and manage our lands in accordance with our cultural values and laws. While access agreements and easements can be important tools in securing more Indigenous access and management control to our lands, transfer of ownership is the primary focus for our efforts.
We support and celebrate all work that leads to Indian people being in relationship with their lands including land return to Tribal governments, land return to Tribal individuals and families, and partnerships with land owners that give Tribal people real decision making power on lands.
Intertribal focus
Following the Rogue River Indian Wars of the 1850s our Native peoples of Southwestern Oregon, which include the Takelma, Shasta, and Southwest Oregon Dene (Galice, Chasta Costa, Mikwanu, Tututni, Euchre, Sixes, Joshua, Chetco and other villages) were fragmented and removed from our homelands. The majority of our people were removed to what became the Siletz and Grand Ronde reservations on the Central Oregon Coast.
Others on the California-side of the border were forced into various reservations and rancherias, while some remained in our homelands in hiding, intermarried with local settlers, or returned by escaping the reservations and avoiding recapture or execution. This removal area represents millions of acres roughly covering the area of the Rogue Valley (Jackson and Josephine counties) and the coast from the California border to Floras Creek, OR. This area includes the territory of Takelma, Shasta, and Southwest Oregon Dv-ne/Dee-ni’/Tv-de people. It was an extremely traumatic period for our peoples, and the beginning of a long period of repeated displacement from our lands and alienation from our relatives.
Today, many Tribal governments in western Oregon and far-northern California are confederated, meaning that they represent citizens from many different tribal bands (e.g. different languages and cultures are represented). Within this context, descendants of individual tribal bands may belong to different tribal governments, or none at all.
In this context of displacement and diaspora, we practice an inclusive vision of community that includes all our people regardless of where they’re enrolled (or not) and we welcome all relatives who come with a good heart in our work.