Contribute

Support Rematriation in the Midwest

The Great Plains Action Society (GPAS) is building an Urban Indigenous-led Resilience and Innovation Hub in Iowa City in order to “ignite a reclamation of Indigenous agency, sovereignty, and rebuild our ancient relationship with the environment—all while helping to curb the climate crisis.”

Contribute to GPAS’ Rematriation Fund here:

We encourage you to make a recurring, monthly contribution, considering it to be a “rent” or “land tax” that represents an ongoing acknowledgement that you are living on stolen land.

While you ultimately should choose to contribute an amount that makes the most sense for your own circumstances, you are welcome to use this calculator created by the organization Honor Native Land Tax for guidance. Please note that this calculator is meant only to be a guide.

What Else Can I Do?

Land Acknowledgement

Indigenous land acknowledgment is an effort to recognize the Indigenous past, present, and future of a particular location and to understand our own place within that relationship. Usually, land acknowledgments take the form of written and/or verbal statements. It is becoming more common to see land acknowledgments delivered at community gatherings, places of worship, concerts and festivals, etc. (from the Native Governance Center).

• For guidance on how to craft a land acknowledgment statement, check out this guide created by the Native Governance Center.

• To go beyond land acknowledgments and move toward reparative action, read this guide!

Support land reclamation efforts

Support efforts by Native peoples to recover what is theirs.
Keep an eye out for opportunities that arise in the media and in our newsletter.

Support the return of human remains and sacred objects

Call on museums to return human remains and sacred items stolen from Native peoples. Though the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires any institution that has received federal funding to do so, thousands of items have yet to be returned to Native communities.

Support Indigenous-led environmental work

Protect the integrity of the land by opposing projects that pollute soil, air, or water. Support local Indigenous efforts to protect land and water, and get involved with national organizations like the Indigenous Environmental Network and Honor the Earth.

Support Movements to Stop the Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Relatives (MMIWR)

Across the United States and Canada, Indigenous women and girls, as well as other relatives, are being taken or murdered at an unrelenting rate. The situation is made worse in areas where pipeline projects or other extractive industries are active.

Know your family’s history

How did your family end up in the US? If your ancestors are from a colonizing country, what was your family’s connection to land, spiritual traditions, economies, etc. before that country began colonizing other places? Does your family own land in the US? If so, how did they come to acquire it?

Start an Indigenous Solidarity Fund where you live!

Check out this Resource Guide for Indigenous Solidarity Funding Projects, compiled by the Indigenous Solidarity Network and representatives from the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust / Shuumi Land Tax, Real Rent Duwamish, and the Manna-hatta Fund.

The most important thing to consider before starting a voluntary land tax program in your area is consent from the Native nations or organizations to whom you intend to donate the tax proceeds.