Creating the Space to Reimagine and Rematriate Beyond a Settler-Colonial Present: The Importance of Land Rematriation and “Land Back” for Non-Federally Recognized California Native Nations

The Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Tongva Tahrahhat Paxaavxa Conservancy provide an alternative space (outside of our settler-colonial present) for Indigenous peoples to connect and practice their cultures; allowing for people to reimagine and Indigenize the present and future. This thesis examines the process and impact of land rematriation and “land back” for unrecognized California Native communities. The process and practice of both land rematriation and “land back” is foundational in supporting access and caretaking for ancestral homelands, cultural revitalization, Indigenous sovereignty, and self-determination efforts for these communities. California Native communities have survived three waves of colonial governments, laws, policies, and actions that continue to create enormous barriers for non-federally recognized California Native communities. This has not stopped unrecognized California tribal community members from building upon the inter-generational movement work that their families and communities have been a part of to advocate and practice land rematriation and “land back.” This thesis focuses on the work of the Sogorea Te’ Land Trust and the Tongva Tahrahhat Paxaavxa Conservancy, two case studies that exemplify and uplift the impactful work of land rematriation and “land back.” By establishing and building restorative relationships with their ancestral homelands and community, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust’s and Tongva Tahrahhat Paxaavxa Conservancy’s praxis reimagines and provides a space for people to re-engage and practice deep radical relationality, healing, and supports reestablishing a relationship with their homelands, culture, and one another in meaningful ways. In this thesis, through the experience of these two Native-led organizations, I focus on local “land back” struggles and how the collaborative, Indigenous-centered focus and practice they engage in have shaped the outcomes as land rematriation. I conclude my thesis by highlighting community voices on the impact of land rematriation work and suggestions that these communities recommend to support “land back” efforts