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From Land Grabs to Land Return: Indigenous Sovereignty and Philanthropy (Land Justice for Funders Series)

August 20 , 9:00 am – 10:30 am PDT


Missed the first two Land Justice for Funders sessions? Check out our blog post on Rekindling Right Relationship: Lessons from the Tributary Project Land Justice Webinar and Beyond Ownership: What the Community Movement Commons Teaches Us About Land Justice in Urban Contexts.

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What becomes possible when land is returned to the Indigenous communities who have cared for it for generations—and what role can philanthropy play in helping make that possible?

Join fellow funders for the third webinar in our 2026 Land Justice for Funders virtual series, a conversation exploring land return as a powerful form of repair, restoration, and Indigenous self-determination.

Guided by Land Justice Futures, we’ll hear from Indigenous leaders and philanthropy practitioners about a diverse array of land return examples. From rural to urban, full donations to philanthropy-supported buybacks, public partnerships to Catholic nuns seeking repair — you’ll learn just how vast the possibilities are in this growing movement — and how philanthropy can play a catalytic role in supporting these complex, relationship-based processes.

Our speakers:

  • Pat McCabe / Woman Stands Shining (DinĂ©) 
  • Biskakone Greg Johnson, Lac du Flambeau Band of Ojibwe
  • Julia Bator, Executive Director, JM Kaplan Fund
  • Michelle Mascarenhas, Senior Program Officer, Kataly Foundation
  • Brittany Koteles & Sarah Bradley, Co-Founders, Land Justice Futures

About Land Justice Futures: Land Justice Futures is a “bridging organization” in the land justice movement, helping connect historically marginalized and overlooked land stewards to religious institutions who are discerning the future of their properties. In addition to this specific focus on religious land transitions, LJF serves as a broader educator and connector in service of the growing movement for land return.

From Land Grabs to Land Return: Indigenous Sovereignty and Philanthropy is the third webinar in a 2026 Land Justice series co-hosted by Blue Sky Funders Forum, Elmina B. Sewall Foundation, Highstead Foundation, Resist, and the Maine Climate and Environmental Funders Network. This series highlights working examples of land justice in practice, featuring bold funders integrating land justice into their portfolios alongside the visionary community partners with whom they work. Participants will leave inspired to begin or deepen land justice practices in their grantmaking and be better prepared to turn conversation into aligned, collaborative philanthropic action.

This webinar is open to funders only and the recording will be shared with registrants.

Register Here

Why a Land Justice Series?

At Blue Sky Funders Forum, we see land justice as a foundational lens for understanding many of the challenges our members seek to address—from equitable access to nature and environmental education to community health, climate resilience, and economic opportunity. Histories of land dispossession have helped shape interconnected systems of colonialism, white supremacy, and economic inequality that continue to influence who benefits from land and nature today. Throughout this series, we’ll explore how philanthropy can move along a continuum from recognition to repair through approaches such as narrative change, community-led decision-making, Indigenous sovereignty, land return, and long-term investments in community stewardship.