The Landback Universities project, a Mellon Foundation-funded initiative, seeks proposals of case studies for an edited collection that explores what Landback — a movement that locates liberation in “putting Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands” — looks like in a variety of college or university contexts. 

We welcome contributions from faculty, staff, administrators, practitioners, students, and community partners who have engaged in Landback activities. We encourage collaboratively authored contributions that include the perspectives and voices of tribal partners, Native higher ed practitioners, and Native students. We welcome diverse approaches to storytelling, including essays (2000-2500 words), creative writing, and art. 

We are working to identify a press that will make this volume available open access. Included contributions will receive a stipend of $1000 per chapter to offset the cost of creating the case study. 

We take a capacious stance on what Landback activities encompass, including but not limited to: rematriation of lands, collective stewardship and/or land trusts; student-centered admissions, recruitment, and community support; faculty, staff, or student-based programmes and organizations; shared governance; government-to-government relationships; academic programs; and land-based programs. Understanding the importance of local contexts, we seek detailed examples of how your institution has sought to move beyond performative moves towards decolonization to identify and operationalize practices around Landback activities. 

To ensure that the volume meets the needs of our audience, each contribution should describe the case and explicitly identify practices or institutional activities that others might adapt.