Iya for LandCulture and Resistance is a coalition of indigenous peoples and those who support indigenous efforts to reclaim our respective lands, cultures, and self-determination. It has been Iya’s initial goal to open a dialogue between peoples who are indigenous to Turtle Island and those who are from elsewhere, on the topic of our respective roles and responsibilities in creating a non-colonial relationship on this land. This dialogue has resulted in the creation of the Turtle Island Recovery Project as a vehicle through which settlers and allies can actively contribute to decolonization and support indigenous land rights. TIRP is focused on returning privately owned land to the indigenous peoples who hold title to that land. For our first land recovery, we are bringing together a small group of people who are not indigenous to Turtle Island to buy a house and 100 acres. They will live in the house and return the acreage to the group who holds title to the land.

In addition to returning land to its rightful stewards, this project is also intended to develop non-colonial ways for people who are not indigenous to Turtle Island to live here. We hope that a section of the reclaimed space can be devoted to developing a heterogeneous community and learning centre to continue working on decolonizing our relationships to each other and to the natural world. In this space, diverse groups could work towards reclaiming our respective indigenous traditions, as well as raising awareness and funds for indigenous rights and decolonization projects.

We are currently looking for people who would be interested in being part of the purchase of the land and living in a communal house, or supporting in any other way.