The Land Back movement is gaining traction under pressure from community advocates and the governor’s plan to prioritize returning public lands to Native American tribes. Last year, Governor Gavin Newsom launched an initiative he called the 30x30 plan, to conserve 30% of the state’s land and coastal waters by the year 2030. At a Truth and Healing Council Meeting, the governor dedicated $100 million to support tribal approaches to conservation.
At a recent LandBack symposium at Cal Poly Humboldt, leaders of several Indigenous people’s land trusts spoke about the variety of those approaches. They noted that the conservation movement often shuts out Native people, by not including cultural provisions…