Environmental Justice and Indigenous Land Rights

Morsal Azimi

UC Berkeley, Morsal’s alma mater, is a Land-Grant University, which means it is located on land expropriated from Indigenous peoples by the Morrill Act. The Morrill Act dispossessed Indigenous peoples of 11 million acres of land in total, 150,000 acres of which funded the UC system. The settler-colonial roots of the UC system cannot be forgotten, as this foundation of dispossession has consequences which are felt to this day. These traumas are felt today in the form of environmental degradation, lack of recognition for Indigenous peoples, and exclusion from policy making. UC Berkeley still occupies and benefits from land taken from tribes. Indigenous groups want more than just acknowledgment, they want resources, decision making power, and land back.

Check out Morsal’s one-pager here, and her presentation here!