Rematriation

The term Rematriation describes the process of "returning to the sacred Mother". This returning specifically refers to the restoring of relationships between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands and artifacts (typically through the repossession of those lands and items), the use of traditional and cultural Indigenous knowledge to care for the Earth, and the honoring of Indigenous matrilineal systems. A theoretical concept initially introduced in 1988 by Native feminist author Lee Maracle, Rematriation has grown into a worldwide movement led by Indigenous women and adopted by Native collectives, artists, organizations, as well as many land trusts, across the world. It has also become a concept adopted and applied by academic spheres across numerous disciplines. Many academics have come to believe that Rematriation in itself implies the need for rekindling and fostering relationships with nature and underrepresented communities, and continued action to shift colonial, heteropatriarchal, binary systems.

Origin

Rematriation stems from a reframing of the concept of Repatriation. The new word was first introduced in 1988 by Stó:lō author Lee Maracle, in the manuscript for her book, I Am Woman. She used the term in order to decolonize the process of Repatriation. While both Repatriation and Rematriation describe the returning of cultural items and/or lands to the Indigenous groups from which they originated, the latter reframes the concept in terms of the matrilineal structure of many Indigenous groups. In honoring the societies structured around women, Rematriation opposes the colonial and patriarchal dynamics and systems of violence embedded in the use of Repatriation. It is important to note, however, that this shift in terminology is mainly cultural, as most laws and policies still remain under the term Repatriation. Headed by Indigenous women, the concept of Rematriation morphed into a broader social movement for uplifting the voices and knowledge of Indigenous women and restoring the relationships between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands.

Academia

Feminist Scholarship

The very concept of Rematriation was introduced in a manuscript-turned-book self-identified to be a "Native perspective on Sociology and Feminism". Lee Maracle's initial 1988 manuscript, turned 1996 published book titled I Am Woman, (subtitled the previous), was the first traceable introduction of the word Rematriation. Introduced in this way, the concept easily became a topic of discussion within feminist discourse and academia.

Rematriation has become widely adopted as a core aspect of the ethics of care being used in feminist writing, activism, and scholarship. This feminist ethics of care, in turn, has been adopted by many interdisciplinary departments in academia, and has become widely used by anthropologists, sociologists, and others performing research through a feminist lens. Feminist academics have continued to conceptualize Rematriation, and some have come to believe it reaches further than the act of returning land or an item. For them, it also symbolizes a responsibility, after the act of return, to continue interacting with and uplifting the communities who are underrepresented; it symbolizes a responsibility for aiding in systematic change. These widening ideas of Rematriation continued the discourse, connecting colonial systems of patriarchy to a plethera of social issues (such as the right of women to vote, the isolation of native communities due to their matriarchial systems, the targeting of black individuals by police and institutions of power, etc.).

Environmental Scholarship

Rematriation is also a concept highly discussed and practiced within ecological and environmental spheres, such as Biology, Environmental Studies, Geology, Archaeology, Environmental Law, etc. Like in feminist spheres, the continued discourse opened up ideas of what the term meant and implied, and the two come to the same core idea: that Rematriation denotes the responsibility of fostering relationships and continued action. Many in ecological and environmental spheres have brought Rematriation into practice and theory by examining humanity's (down to each individual person) relationship with nature and the Earth, and working to reconnect people, systems, and processes back to nature. These projects and discussions have come to develop their own practices and concepts related to Rematriation, for example human-nature binary and seed Rematriation. Human-nature binary is the idea that colonial systems of thinking have created a cognitive separation between humans and the rest of nature and our ecosystem; the way to decolonize and shift these ways of thinking ideas of human versus subhuman species is engaging in Rematriation. Many of these ecological and environmental minds have applied Rematriation, the returning to the sacred mother, to the concept of Mother Nature to point to a disconnect formed between humans and the rest of our biological and ecological kin. The reconnection of human and nature starts with Rematriation processes, sometimes in the form of rematriating knowledge; uplifting and returning to ancestral and indigenous knowledge systems acts to rematriate knowledge, especially surrounding indigenous connections to the Earth.

Many of the concepts brought to Rematriation have been applied to issues surrounding the global climate crisis, and practicing Rematriation has become another way for people to be more climate-conscious. Rematriation and climate change are inherently intertwined because the environmental effects of climate change disproportionately impact the Native and Indigenous communities centered by Rematriation efforts. This is due to their unique relationship with and reliance on the Earth and its natural systems, and their higher morbidity rates from inequitable access to healthcare and other medical resources.

Ecological and environmental disciplines have begun the process of rematriating by the growing inclusion of Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (ITEK) into discussions, teaching practices, and research.

Seed Rematriation

Seed Rematriation is an aspect of Rematriation efforts within agricultural practices and fields. It describes the specific action of Rematriating seeds to the lands they originated, and therefore simultaneously returning native plants and the cultural traditions that surround them to indigenous groups. This has also become an interdisciplinary discussion across agriculture, law, anthropology, etc. These have all prompted questions about if Rematriation is the answer for how to work to reverse climate change and simultaneously begin shifting cultural perceptions and representations.

Rematriation in Use

ReMatriate Collective

Rematriation is the name of a non-profit, multi-media initiative that aims to put the concept of Rematriation into practice through film production, content creation, and community engagement and outreach specifically designed for Indigenous audiences. Founded by Michelle Schenandoah, the initiative began with Rematriation Magazine, eventually expanding to include more avenues of storytelling. As a community of Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women, Rematriation works to shift harmful and simplified narratives, defy stereotypes, and use personal experiences for positive change and connection. In addition to its name and Indigenous heritage, the group interacts with the concept of rematriation through furthering education and creating gatherings and spaces solely tailored to Indigenous women and their experiences. Through the uplifting of these underrepresented voices, they aim to recenter Indigenous communities and raise awareness about human's need to live in balance with Mother Earth.

Rematriation is also the name of a 2022 documentary film describing the threat of logging to British Columbia's last untouched Old Growth Forest, Fairy Creek (Ada'itsx) on Vancouver Island, and the indigenous-led protests that followed.

Many Land Trust organizations actively publicize their support for the Rematriation movement. For example, the Sogorea Te' Land Trust introduced the "Rematriate the Land Fund," which produces and obtains funds specifically dedicated to funding the return of stewardship of Indigenous lands and all related costs. They, too, have actively publicized the importance of the movement, erecting billboards (in conjunction with the NDN Collective) reading "REMATRIATE THE LAND."

Rematriation is also a concept prominent in works of art by indigenous artists or those honoring indigenous peoples. One example is that of Metís artist and researcher Lara Felsing. Felsing's projects focus on the use and projection of three three concepts: kinship, reciprocity, and rematriation. In her 2023 exhibition Blanket Ceremony for the Forest, Felsing describes utilizing the concept of rematriation through the inclusion of historical wool blankets in the patchwork blankets that were wrapped around trees. She purchased the blankets from a local museum after they were discovered stored with other rations in case of a nuclear attack during the 1950's Nuclear Scares. She describes her use of the blankets as an act of returning to the sacred mother by writing:

"[t]hey are for sale after being unboxed—after being discovered in the basement of the post office, initially stored along with food and medical supplies in the event of a nuclear attack. I wanted to apply the same gesture of safety and protection to the forest that the National Security Strategic Stockpile reserved for the humans in this area back in 1952."

— Lara Felsing, Wâhkôhtowin: Gestures in Kinship, Reciprocity, and Rematriation, pg. 101