Land back: Movement to reclaim Indigenous land grows

Land back, two words that have become popular at rallies, gatherings and protests across Canada. Today on Unreserved, what does it mean to give land back to Indigenous communities? 

A report published by the Yellowhead Institute, a First Nation-led think tank, takes an in-depth look at the ongoing dispossession of Indigenous lands in Canada, and at what Indigenous people are doing to get land back. Executive director, Hayden King, discusses the findings. 

1492 Land Back Lane sits on a stretch of land included in the Haldimand Proclamation signed in 1784, which set aside land for the Haudenosaunee. Now that land is at risk of becoming a subdivision. Skyler Williams and Courtney Skye discuss what this stretch of land means to the nearby community, Six Nations of the Grand River. 

Molly Swain and Chelsea Vowel have always imagined a future where land is returned to Indigenous people, so they launched a project called Back 2 The Land: 2Land 2Furious. They wanted to raise money to buy a parcel of land in Lac Ste. Anne County, Alta. After receiving money from an anonymous donor, that dream quickly became a reality. 

One place you might have noticed the words 'Land Back' is on internet memes, which are images with text added over top. Nigel Henri Robinson is a meme creator, and he explains how land back memes are helping to further the movement. 

Back in September, a First Nation in Nova Scotia launched a controversial lobster fishery. Anchored to an historic supreme court ruling known as the Marshall Decision. It affirms the right of the Mi'kmaw to operate and earn a livelihood from the ocean. CBC Indigenous reporter Nic Meloney tells us more.

This week's playlist: 

A Tribe Called Red - Land Back 

Crown Lands - Mountain