In his 1973 book, God Is Red: A Native View of Religion, Vine Deloria Jr., the Standing Rock Sioux author and activist who back then was what we would call today the pre-eminent American Indian “influencer” of the twentieth century, fashioned a dramatic call to action:

Now, precisely a half-century later, those “long-forgotten peoples,” the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, Asia, Africa, the Pacific, and Sápmi, as Deloria foretold, have indeed taken this call to action to heart, rising up, and, as the chapters in this book show, asserting and advancing their demands for land justice and Land Back as they seek to reclaim their ancestral homelands stolen by their European colonizers and the successor post-colonial governments put in their place.

The experiences and struggles of Indigenous Peoples in demanding land justice and Land Back from their governments in each of the countries described are all uniquely shaped and driven by different and varying national laws, policies, prejudices, and degrees of repression, intimidation, and violence aimed at Indigenous Peoples who seek to reclaim their ancestral lands. But it must always be remembered that those distinctive experiences and stories of dispossession and spoliation are all the distilled by-products over centuries of a singular and still vibrant legal principle, the Doctrine of Discovery, adhered to by the colonizing nations of Europe in varying forms, and unquestioningly embraced by their successor post-colonial governments. The Doctrine recognized a superior sovereignty and title in the European nation claiming “discovery” rights over the Indigenous Peoples and lands it intended to bring under its exclusive control. The Doctrine vested in the “discovering” European nation the unquestioned power to unilaterally extinguish or deny competing title or rights claimed by the Indigenous Peoples who had occupied and managed their ancestral homelands since time immemorial.

Today, the Doctrine continues to do its work in providing a legal basis, policy justification, and launching pad for the human rights violations, crimes, and abuses perpetuated against Indigenous Peoples demanding land justice and land back. The irony, of course, is that as the world confronts the twin global crises of climate change and mass species extinction, it is becoming increasingly recognized that the Indigenous Peoples of the world possess the knowledge and ability necessary to successfully conserve and manage biodiverse ecosystems, “carbon sinks,” and protected conservation areas far more effectively than governments or conservation organizations can. And importantly, they can do it at a fraction of the cost, particularly where their rights are recognized, respected, and supported.

As this book shows, in country after country examined and analyzed, having those rights recognized, respected, and supported is no easy task for Indigenous Peoples anywhere in the world, even in the most so-called progressive states, such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the Nordic countries. Yet, Indigenous-based conservation and control over ancestral Indigenous lands and resources is the most effective, efficient, and equitable path forward to safeguarding the planet. We know that the protection of the ecological integrity of critical ecosystems and positive conservation outcomes are strongly correlated with engaged and empowered Indigenous community-based management that recognizes Indigenous Peoples’ human rights, including their rights to self-determination, consultation, and free, prior, and informed consent. Addressing the immense global challenges of climate change and species extinction through legal recognition of Indigenous land rights and Indigenous-led management and control of those lands and resources creates unprecedented opportunities for the world and for Indigenous Peoples to expand Indigenous stewardship and knowledge for the benefit of all humanity. As this book clearly demonstrates, however, our international and domestic laws, regulations, and institutions have yet to fully appreciate or seize upon these opportunities. They have been far too slow to recognize that the odds of successfully addressing these global challenges are much higher without land justice and Land Back for Indigenous Peoples, who stand ready and are uniquely able to “take up their responsibilities to all living things.” Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge and stories have much to offer the world, teaching the rest of us “the meaning of the lands of their ancestors.”

Robert A. Williams, Jr.

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina

Regents Professor and Faculty Chair

The University of Arizona, Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy Program