FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 15, 2021
Rapid City, SD — Today, NDN Collective’s LANDBACK Campaign announced the launch of LANDBACK U, or LANDBACK University– a free, comprehensive, online learning platform to engage in political education and discussions on topics critical to the Indigenous movement to reclaim land and relationship to land.
“Since time immemorial, the passing down of knowledge from one generation to the next has been instrumental to our survival,” said Krystal Two Bulls, NDN Collective’s LANDBACK Campaign Director. “We have maintained our languages, ceremonies, songs, spirituality and way of life through atrocities no Peoples should have to endure. LANDBACK U will not only offer avenues to reclaim land, but insight into what is possible when we reclaim our relationship with the land. It will provide political education that captures the context of where the LANDBACK movement fits into the global movement for collective liberation of all Peoples, utilizing accessible language that digs deep into the roots and current demands of the LANDBACK movement within the so-called United States and LANDBACK struggles internationally.”
The initial LANDBACK U curriculum will feature three modules on the following:
- Cultural Fire: Bringing Good Fire Back to Our Communities as a Pathway to LANDBACK
- Political History of the Hawaiian Kingdom & Aloha ʻĀina: Contemporary Land Struggles
- Palestine: The Right of Return and LANDBACK
Registration will open on Thursday, June 17th, 2021. Follow NDN Collective on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for official announcement and registration links.
REGISTER FOR MODULE 1: CULTURAL FIRE, SESSION 1 AND SESSION 2
“LANDBACK is not hyperbole. LANDBACK is a commitment and promise to future generations,” said Demetrius Johnson, Organizer for the LANDBACK Campaign. “If we are committed to stopping climate change and a future in this world, we must also be committed to LANDBACK. LANDBACK U creates a space for Indigenous Peoples to communicate solutions that have worked, and will work, in protecting our ecosystem from capitalism, imperialism, and militarization.”
“We often encounter barriers to learning, both our own histories and those of other communities who are our relatives and natural allies,” said Nadya Tannous, Organizer for the LANDBACK Campaign. “Peoples’ Education means for us and by us. It values our lived experiences and our demands. LANDBACK U is committed to making knowledge shares accessible by connecting us together to talk about topics that are central to our struggles for self-determination and LANDBACK.”
“We announce the launch of LANDBACK U with the intention to reclaim our stories, voices and methods of transferring knowledge,” said Krystal Two Bulls, NDN Collective’s LANDBACK Campaign Director.“We’re creating our own avenues to help people access the truth, because we know that education is a critical step to building people power and creating the just, equitable world that we all deserve. Our Ancestors built a strong foundation for the generational transfer of knowledge. LANDBACK U provides us the opportunity to contribute and maintain that legacy.,”
Stay up-to-date on the launch of LANDBACK U by joining the LANDBACK movement at https://landback.org.
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NDN Collective is an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power. Through organizing, activism, philanthropy, grantmaking, capacity-building, and narrative change, we are creating sustainable solutions on Indigenous terms.
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