Indigenous Peoples have inhabited, cared for and used these lands and waters, applying original instructions, Indigenous knowledge systems and laws, in relationships of mutual care. It was understood that lands and waters could not be bought, sold, or owned. Yet, since colonization, ideas of ownership and resource exploitation have shaped our relationships with the land and each other. And they have also shaped the history of land trusts. 

Now, as a community, we are learning how land trusts can be part of reconciliation, how land trusts can offer ways for Indigenous peoples to reconnect with land as teacher and as provider. We are learning how our work to restore and care for lands can be shaped by Indigenous knowledge systems and traditional practices, and are adapting these into our conservation work. We are looking at other ways that land trusts can help respond to inequities built into our systems, by working with intentionality to increase access to nature for people who have historically not had this privilege. This essential work is ongoing and is really just beginning!