3 Land Day Actions: Defend native land from Turtle Island to Palestine

Today, March 30, is Land Day: a day that commemorates the Palestinian people’s relentless resistance to Israeli settler colonialism, military occupation, and apartheid.

This day reminds us of the importance of defending and protecting native land around the world, from Palestine to Turtle Island, as Palestinian people all across Palestine protest settler colonialism. Our native peoples have the right to exist and thrive on the lands we are rooted in.

Here on Turtle Island, the NDN Collective—an Indigenous-led organization dedicated to building Indigenous power—just released a position paper for Land Day to uplift the struggle and demands of the Palestinian people. This powerful paper demonstrates the shared deep commitment between our movements to our collective liberation, including environmental justice. Read and share the NDN Collective’s “The Right of Return is LANDBACK” Position Paper on Palestine here.

“Under settler colonialism, settlers do not care about the People or the land,” the paper reads. “Their relationships are based on extraction and exploitation. Indigenous Peoples protect and defend our land and our communities. The land convenes us and helps to define who we are and what our purpose is.”

On this Land Day and beyond, you can take action with these movements for Palestinian liberation, Indigenous liberation, and environmental justice. Here’s how you can get involved now:

1. Sign the pledge, “Environmental Justice Has No Borders: A Call to the Environmental Justice Movement.” Israel violently forces Indigenous Palestinians out of their homes and off their land, while harming the environment in the process. This pledge comes in the aftermath of backtracking from the Sierra Club on Palestine that highlighted the dangerous persistence of support for colonialism in the environmental justice movement. Join us in supporting Palestinian freedom and environmental justice by signing on to this pledge and sharing it with environmental justice activists. You can sign as an organization or as an individual at bit.ly/NoGreenwashingPledge.

2. Register for the “Our Struggle Is One: Resisting Settler Colonialism” Land Day webinar this Friday, April 1 at 12 noon ET. Land defenders across the globe are fighting violent dispossession, land theft, and environmental destruction. Hear from activists from Turtle Island to Brazil to Palestine. UPDATE: Watch the webinar recording on Facebook here.

3. Raise your voice with the Land Day social media toolkit. With this toolkit, you can uplift Palestinian demands, including the call for sanctions on apartheid Israel. Today, 300 Palestinian residents of Al-Walaja outside Jerusalem are fighting expulsion as the Israeli colonial court delayed a ruling that could demolish their homes—leaving this cruel demolition policy hanging over their heads for six more months. Use the hashtag #SaveAlWalaja to amplify their struggle. Post on social media now.

Thank you for taking action this Land Day and in the continual fight for collective liberation.

Cat Knarr is the Communications Director at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights.