Elena Bilheimer, EcoNews Journalist
The month of March is when most people are preparing their taxes and taking inventory of their income and expenses. While the majority only consider the taxes they need to pay to the state and federal government, this moment can also be used to recognize and pay tribute to the Indigenous peoples whose land you occupy through the creation of a land acknowledgement and the implementation of an honor tax.
Cutcha Risling Baldy, an Assistant Professor of Native American Studies at Cal Poly Humboldt, explained that, a land acknowledgement is an Indigenous practice used to build relationships with place. These acknowledgements remind Indigenous peoples of their inherent interconnectedness, and their mutual responsibility to each other and the land. When land acknowledgements first became more widespread, the intention was to make people understand that land has a history far beyond Western knowledge and the settler colonial timeframe. They were also meant to create awareness that the past has present day effects, and that the United States of America resides on unceded territory. Often, these acknowledgements have taken shape as formal statements designed to recognize the history and presence of Indigenous peoples.
Unfortunately, a lot of land acknowledgements have become used as blanket statements made by institutions or organizations to absolve themselves of any real action or reparation work. As Risling Baldy pointed out, these kinds of land acknowledgements are not for Indigneous peoples, as they are already undoubtedly aware of non-Indigenous presence on stolen land. In order to avoid making shallow acknowledgements, there needs to be tangible action steps in order to remind people there are things they can do. One tangible action step everybody can participate in is called an honor tax, sometimes called a land tax.
Honor taxes have been used in many different contexts, but they are usually a way of respecting the sovereignty of Indigenous peoples. It is a voluntary tax paid to the Indigenous tribe’s territory you occupy as a way of recognizing that the society that has been created around you is a result of the theft of Indigenous land, life, wealth, and livelihood. Risling Baldy explained that Indigenous communities tend to have some of the highest poverty rates of any group of people in the United States and are more likely to have their lands targeted for environmental degradation and have violence committed against them. Illegally taken land has created a lot of wealth for some, but has widened the disparity in natural resource management and land ownership. This is illustrated by the fact that over 90% of privately owned land is owned by white people.
“If the treaties would have been honored, if the lands would have been honored the way that they were supposed to, if Indigenous peoples were in charge of even half the land that they were supposed to be, you would already be paying taxes to them, it would already be a system that existed,” said Risling Baldy. “Knowing that, how are you going to participate in making sure that they get at least some of what they would deserve in that situation?…it’s a way of saying, ‘I acknowledge, I honor and I want to do something about this situation.’”
It is important to understand the difference between an honor tax and a gift or donation, as this tax is a consistent and voluntary demonstration of responsibility. Risling Baldy believes that these taxes could set a precedent for the type of system that could come into existence. By showing support through taxes, it can help establish that there’s wide support for Indigenous sovereignty from multiple people and organizations. “You’ll start to see that there’s a lot more people who are ready to build those types of changes than you thought,” said Risling Baldy. “And that to me can be a really powerful thing to help keep movements going forward.”
In order to fully understand current political and environmental issues, it is necessary to understand settler colonialism as an ongoing process that relies on the continuous dispossession of Indigenous peoples from their land. Risling Baldy describes settler colonialism as an invisible box that can only be dismantled once the person inside the box realizes that the world doesn’t have to function in the limited way they had been taught. She uses the example that most people have an easier time imagining a zombie apocalypse than the end of capitalism, because the structure won’t let most people think outside the box.
“As Indigenous peoples, we are the people who existed before settler colonialism,” said Risling Baldy. “Our stories existed before settler colonialism. The ones we still have to this day are ones that are from before settler colonialism…So learning with us, and from us, just opens you up to being able to see beyond and into the next world, what the world could actually be, what it could look like.”
While land acknowledgements and honor taxes are important, Risling Baldy believes that the first step should actually be giving land back to Indigenous communities. There have been many studies showing that Indigenous lands are the ones that are managed well and have the highest biodiversity. “Let’s always keep Land Back as the thing we’re doing,” said Risling Baldy. “I think that the reason being, it’s good for people to give land back. Because it’s good for the Earth to have land returned to Indigenous peoples.” She specifies that if you are a person who is going to pay an honor tax, it is important that you also be the person asking everyone how they are working to return land.
To continue to educate yourself about these issues, sign up for a Native American Studies course at Cal Poly Humboldt or watch their YouTube videos, attend the Department’s online speaker series, or show up for their events. If you are in Humboldt, you can participate in the Wiyot Honor Tax www.honortax.org. If there is no honor tax system in your area, there are always Indigenous organizations you can give to. Even small donations can make a real impact.