2026 Massachusetts Land Conservation Conference

Nipmuc Community Land Project: Carrying Forward Responsibilities to Land and Kinship Beyond Colonial Frameworks

The Nipmuc Community Land Project (NCLP) is a Nipmuc/k-led land trust formed in 2025 to restore and sustain the sacred relationship between the Nipmuc/k people and our ancestral homelands. Grounded in land rescue and care, cultural revitalization, food sovereignty, and environmental justice, this session explores how Indigenous-led NGOs like NCLP enact responsibilities to land and kinship beyond colonial frameworks.

Panelists situate NCLP within the broader landscape of Indigenous-led land trusts and reflect on what it means to be a good ally in land return, environmental stewardship, and cultural revitalization. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of how to engage Indigenous-led NGOs in ways that honor Indigenous self-determination, center Indigenous leadership, and are rooted in respect, reciprocity, and responsibility.