The Native Iowan

I’m watching and reading and working on the topic of “stolen land”. That modern-day concept that because of the evil, nasty, greedy white-guys, who came and dominated and destroyed and took and plundered… because of those terrible, terrible “European slave masters” every inch of land everywhere is stolen. The Americas, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, Asia, The Pacific Islands, The Arctic and Antarctic … Every inch of the globe, as nears as I can tell, is “Stolen Land”.

I think of the time, energy and finance invested in modern society’s Security of Tenure… Security of tenure is the legal or perceived certainty that an individual’s or community’s land rights will be recognized and protected against forced eviction, harassment, and arbitrary displacement.

Security of Tenure is a corner-stone to modern society. Without security of tenure there is no modern society.

I fear I am witnessing the erosion of this basic concept of civilisation if the property I own can be claimed by a second party. There must be a reason. And there must be a process to sort it all out. Quickly. We know our 21stCentury legal system plods slowly and is very costly.

I had a situation years ago when the Aussie-Feds decided they wanted a portion of a piece of land I owned. They wanted to expand the rail line, needed 2 of the 6 acres I owned. The 6 acres I’d been spending money to get development approvals on. The 6 acres that I was in negotiations to sell to another developer. The Feds came in with very heavy hands. Told me there was nothing I could do. I needed to sit down and shut up.

I put my high-cost lawyer on to it. We closed the door to the negotiations to sell the 6acres. Because we had a documented sale in hand we were able to claim that the price the Feds were offering was insufficient. As a 6acre plot this was a valuable residential development. Cut 2 acres from it and its no where the same opportunity.

For 2years my lawyer traded letters with the Feds. For 2years I paid legal fees. For 2years my development and my money invested therein was frozen. Everything on hold as the Feds and my lawyer traded letters.

Eventually we received a letter from the Feds saying that they’d changed their mind, no longer needed my land, and thanks for the fun times… I completed the development work, received approval to build 33 new homes, and sold the project on.

I was able to claim “costs”, which means any fees for the legal arguing were repaid. Any losses through derailed and delayed development were moot. I got hosed, spent a lot of time and money to get nowhere. Lost 2years of traction and action. All instigated by legal arguments over who had rights over the land.

This story is not new or uncommon. Mankind tends to argue and fight and dispute over ownership of land. It a mammalian trait I think.

And it gets more confused and complicated… The Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people have lodged a historic native title claim with the Federal Court over metropolitan Melbourne, including the CBD, aiming to gain control over Crown land. The claim covers 10,000 square kilometers, focusing on parks and reserves. Here in QLD we see similar happening: Aboriginal land claims in Queensland (QLD) represent a complex intersection of historical justice, native title law, and modern land-use disputes, with ongoing challenges regarding land transfers and the impact on local communities. Currently, over 28% of the state is under determined native title, with a significant amount still under claim.

And in the USofA… Native land initiatives in California, often referred to as the “Land Back” movement, focus on returning ancestral lands to Indigenous stewardship, addressing historical wrongs stemming from the non-ratification of 18 treaties in 1851-1852 which left many California tribes landless. The state is currently attempting to reverse this, aiming for 7.5 million acres (roughly the amount promised in the 1850s) to be under tribal stewardship

For grins and giggles what happening in Greece… historical memory, and economic pressure, particularly on islands and in rural areas. The challenges include the management of communal land rights, disputes over land ownership in the context of tourism development, and the long-term impact of population exchange and migration.

Is there a place on the planet where mankind is not fighting over land… Here’s what Groks thinks: Yes, there are a few places on Earth where humans are not actively fighting over land in any meaningful sense—either because the land is effectively unclaimed, or because international agreements have frozen disputes and prohibited militarization or new claims.

Here’s a peek at my piece of Stolen Land…

More later