The question of Native American land reparations is a tricky one that is becoming more politically prominent in today’s world. And it is the issue at the heart of a forthcoming lecture by Dr. Kevin Washburn, who serves as the N. William Hines Dean of Iowa University, where he is also a professor of law.
Dr. Washburn will speak on Land Back for Indian Tribes as part of the Ronald S. and Kathryn K. Christenson Lectureship in Politics and Law. The event is Thursday, Apr. 18 at 4 p.m. in Wallenberg Auditorium. It will be live-streamed and is free and open to the public.
Land back can be particularly thorny for colleges, including Gustavus and many others that sit on what some view as stolen land. Yet very few people here probably know much about it. Dr. Washburn’s lecture will address such questions these schools face, such as how do we acknowledge the issue? Do we do it verbally? Do we do it voluntarily? In the case of Gustavus, is it important to make a monetary agreement with what remains of the Dakota Tribe? But can we even afford such a thing?
Most people may not realize that there are actually three sovereigns in the United States. There are the federal government and state governments, and there also are Native tribes overseeing reservations. “The independence of these nations has waxed and waned, but to some degree, Native Americans can set laws for themselves,” Gustavus Professor of Political Science Samuel Piccolo said. “They have persisted for over 250 years of American political history, despite many periods where the United States is varyingly hostile toward them.”
The land back movement has begun gaining traction in recent years, including with some implementation at Gustavus. “We have been more intentional at Gustavus about incorporating a land acknowledgement into presentations, and about thinking about the location of the College and the Dakota people that occupied this land before Gustavus existed,” said Kate Knutson, professor in Political Science.
The actual return of land, however, is much more government driven by necessity, as with the recent turnover of the Upper Sioux Agency State Park.
Washburn’s lecture will touch on all these issues, including what the land back movement is, where it came from, and why it’s been picking up steam. “Not a lot of students actually know about these issues,” Knutson said. “People are learning things as they happen. People aren’t aware of the possibility that Minnesota even might give land back to a Native community.”
For Gusties who want to know more about these communities, who care about social justice, or who have ever wondered about who occupied the land that Gustavus now sits on, this lecture is for them. “This will be an engaging lecture from an experienced educator and policymaker who is really passionate about articulating ideas that are accessible to a wide audience,” Piccolo said. “He is very good with dialogue and questions, and even if you are only remotely interested, this is one of the best people we could have brought from the community to speak on this topic.”
Washburn confirmed that land back has been a topic of interest for him through his entire career. He attributes the greater attention to a renewed focus on many social justice issues. “There was a famous call, probably three years ago, that all the national parks be returned to the Native tribes they originated from,” Washburn said. “That is the premise—largely true—the fact that much of United States land was stolen from Native tribes.”
Washburn’s discussion will explore what the exact measure of repayment should be. One idea is to return national parks to their tribes, which makes some people uncomfortable because of implications that might have for other land that tribes want back. “I will try to be the straight man here,” Washburn said. “This sounds radical, but there are some steps that are happening that are consistent with expanding justice in this area.” It is not just a blanket matter of returning land—which, to be clear, is primarily an option for federally owned territory. Gaming revenue for places such as the Treasure Island casino on Sturgeon Lake, and how it is distributed to the Native tribes that run them, is also an important issue.
Washburn seeks to be as pragmatic as possible, and justice is embedded in this very complex issue. Even so, a lot of people inhabit stolen lands, even if they weren’t the ones who stole it. Yet, in many instances, it’s difficult to deny that returning land is the right thing to do. “It’s hard to unscramble this omelet,” Washburn said. “All land was once Native land, and now that land is intergenerational in its impact.”