#LandBack Offers Common Ground for Native Tribes, Trump Administration | Opinion

For centuries the Indigenous people of the United States have been the original stewards of the environment. But Indigenous communities are at a crossroads.

As fires rage and climate destruction grows, the Trump administration has signaled a shift to more mining and drilling, to rolling back protection for sacred sites like Bears Ears National Monument, and to rewriting the rules that govern policies like the Endangered Species Act. And with nearly 56 million acres of Native-designated lands, $3 billion a year budgeted to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and billions still pending in pandemic relief, Indigenous communities will surely find themselves eyed carefully by the "DOGE" efficiency task force.

This comes at a moment where many Indian Tribes still face extreme hardship, and where Native communities face disproportionate risks from climate change and pollution.

Indian Tribes will zealously oppose the rollback of environmental protections and will insist on enforcing the right to consultation on land-use decisions with the new administration. But does this have to be combative?

As it happens, Indian Tribes want something that the Trump administration and even DOGE should support—#LandBack, or the return of lands and responsibilities to Indian Tribes. #LandBack is a solution that should form the basis for common ground, and a new way forward for Indian policy under a new administration.

#LandBack is a straightforward solution to environmental protection. Indigenous communities have proven to be responsible stewards of the environment, practicing sustainable hunting, fishing, and farming while restoring habitats. Lands can be ceded to Indian Tribes by governments, public entities, and private landowners.

In recent years, Tribes across the nation have benefited from this strategy, as seen in Eureka, Calif., where the city council returned land to the Wiyot Tribe. The nation has benefited as well. Through the transfer of responsibility from the government, Tribes are playing a critical role in the reintroduction of bison in Montana, the revitalization of California's salmon fisheries, the cleanup of the Columbia River, and more. That's progress.

These efforts have required federal funding and cooperation between states and governments. Philanthropy has also played a role, as evidenced by generous donations that have restored lands to the Oneida Indian Nation in New York and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe in Massachusetts.

Indian Tribes want these collaborations, and are eager to pursue new opportunities for additional shared Tribal, federal, and state co-management arrangements.

These are arrangements that devolve power and responsibility back to local rule. And they seek authority rooted in an inherently conservative principle—that they, the Tribes, know how to care for and manage their lands. And while #LandBack is, in some cases, a radical idea, these partnerships are redefining what #LandBack means.

Indian Tribes have significant policy disagreements with the current administration. They oppose the rollback of environmental protections that affect places of spiritual significance, such as Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. Several Tribal communities consider the site sacred.

Tribes also face severe environmental challenges, all of which contribute to declining overall Tribal health. The administration must continue to enforce the National Environmental Policy Act. Development or activities on federal and Tribal trust lands must comply with the law to reduce environmental harm, mitigate threats to endangered species, and avoid retreating from the protections established by the Endangered Species Act.

And for their survival and health, Indian Tribes will engage vigorously if needed in the debate over these policies. Indian Tribes will also be active on the international level, seeking support from global bodies like the United Nations.

But as we seek solutions, #LandBack is a powerful ground for collaboration.

Just after the election, hundreds of advocates, scholars, and students gathered at a conference at Yale University to discuss the election results and the future of the planet. One clear method of moving beyond election cycles is to return lands to Indigenous peoples, and #LandBack was a recurring theme of the conference.

We cannot be sanguine about the challenges ahead. For Indian Tribes, there is great trepidation about the coming era. But this isn't about any one administration; as one Tribal leader said, the Indigenous people of the U.S. have survived 60 presidential elections, and will survive this one. But Tribes seek more than survival—for their communities and for the planet.

Vigilance on behalf of the Earth and the environment by Indigenous peoples is as ancient as the planet itself. As Cherokee leader Wilma Mankiller once advised, "Step with care, for the faces of the future generations are looking up from the Earth, waiting their turn for life." At this critical moment in history, #LandBack is a powerful solution that meets shared goals. We should embrace it, for the fate of future generations and the urgent needs of today.

Aja DeCoteau is a citizen of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and is the executive director of the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

James D. Diamond is senior counselor for Indigenous programs at The Yale Center for Environmental Justice and visiting lecturer in Law at Yale Law School.

Gerald Torres is Dolores Huerta and Wilma Mankiller professor of environmental justice at the Yale School of the Environment, and professor of law at Yale Law School.

The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.