Everything that we do is ultimately focused on ReMatriaiton, land stewardship, and healing justice for Indigenous Peoples across Iowa and Eastern Nebraska with a focus in Sioux City. Our goals are to build an Urban Indigenous Resilience and Innovation Hub in Sioux City and Omaha, start a Land Stewardship Learning Farm outside of Omaha and create a cutting-edge land trust based on Indigenous ideologies about land. This has been years in the making because land is very hard to acquire due to the fact that it is the ultimate power. Its value goes beyond how much an acre costs, because it is actually priceless.
To learn more about our thoughts on ReMatriaiton, read Sikowis Nobiss' article called, "Why “ReMatriate” is a more inclusive term for returning land to Indigenous peoples" In the article, Sikowis states that ReMatriation, "is a call to reestablish Indigenous landscapes, bring back Indigenous traditional ecological knowledge and to give stolen power back to the feminine. In a world where unfettered patriarchal violence and greed has brought us to the precipice of a climate extinction, ReMatriation is the return of the matriarchy. This counterbalances the forces of toxic masculinity that, through Christian colonial-capitalist violence, are intent on holding all power and controlling all the life, land and resources on our Mother Earth.
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We are honored to be working with consultant Shelley Buffalo, Water Panther Consulting, who is helping us determine what type of Indigenous land trust will suit our needs as well as pushing the narrative of Indigenous futurism. We are also proud to have support from Iowa State University, the Emerald Cities Collaborative, Save Our Future Foundation, the the Honor Native Land Fund--all of whom are actively helping us achieve our ReMatration goals. We are also thankful to many other foundations, small donors and anonymous donors that see the value in what we are doing and supporting the act of ReMatriation.
Urban Native Resilience and Innovation Hub
An Urban Native Resilience and Innovation Hub will provide proximity to culture, traditions, workforce development and education, which will allow Indigenous communities to heal and thrive. Furthermore, with a sustainable building surrounded by regenerative lands and cultural spaces stewarded through traditional ecological knowledge, this hub will ignite a reclamation of Indigenous agency, sovereignty, and rebuild our ancient relationship with the environment—all while helping to curb the climate crisis. Essentially this a true testament to Indigenous Futurism where our worldviews and lifeways can help reimagine the world and establish a just economy where technology can help and not harm the earth.
Land Stewardship Learning Farm and Indigenous Land Trust
We are simultaneously working on raising funds for our Land Stewardship Education Farm. Ideally, this farm will sit on at least 50 acres of land. This farm will be located near Omaha, which is not too far from Sioux City and so we plan on using much of the produce for mutual aid work within the Indigenous communities in both cities. At this time, we are also developing a trust plan that suits our Indigenous ideologies about communal land ownership. Almost 100% of hundred-plus year old farms in Iowa are owned by White descendents of colonial settlers and over 98% of agricultural land in the county is owned by White folks. Knowing this information tells us that it has never been more vital to empower Indigenous land stewardship in Iowa and Nebraska as colonial farming practices have brought these states to the precipice of environmental collapse.
