Important: return ASAP ❗

We can't ignore how important the #LandBack movement is to climate change.

View this email in your browser Sponsor spotlight: Carbon Collective After MONTHS of being overwhelmed by the fact that my 401(k) funds fossil fuels, I rolled it over to Carbon Collective, an online financial advisor that creates investment portfolios aligned with solving climate change. At first, it was hard AF -- the traditional finance industry's confusing language and terrible service is so hard to navigate. But when the Carbon Collective team heard about my frustration, their co-founder James stepped in and was on customer service calls on my behalf for HOURS.  Join me in divesting our retirement funds from fossil fuels with a team that cares. Read: back dat land up Estimated reading time: 3 minutes November Topic: #LandBack This week's module: 1. 🎯  READ | 2. LISTEN | 3. ACT | 4. REFLECT Welcome back to Changeletter by Soapbox Project. I'm the author, Nivi Achanta, and I make it easy for you to fight climate change in 3 minutes every week.   What's up this week Last week I promised no COP26 content, but two small things: 1) Our friends at the Climate Crisis Film Hub are hosting a global film festival. You can participate from anywhere in the world before November 14. 2) According to some attendees, COP26 is....... a hot mess. Here's an excellent horrible Twitter thread. Also if you haven't seen the meme of world leaders wishing for luck in the Trevi fountain, go find it and laugh/cry. This November, let's put aside the garbage fire going on in Glasgow. I want to share my optimism with you: we can and will save ourselves. Instead of throwing coins into fountains, we're creating real change -- one example is the increasing momentum of the #LandBack movement.  Quick intro before getting straight to the point: land back, aka land restitution, aka secure land tenure, aka a million other more confusing terms, is the movement to return land to its original stewards. Colonialism has displaced Indigenous people around the world; people who were not only maintaining the Earth but perhaps improving it. #LandBack is a climate justice solution that pays back what colonizers stole while giving all living creatures better, more experienced caretakers. Playtime is over, kids. P.S. Don't forget to create your Carbon Collective account today - divest your retirement from fossil fuels. P.P.S. Monday is my birthday and if you want to buy me a present, join our membership community and say hi ;)   Your bite-sized actions Today, I'd like for us to read this article from National Geographic about forest gardens. If your lineage has never been colonized, it might be hard to grasp why LandBack matters so much. Some people might see it long overdue; some might see it as unfair. So let's start with climate-related evidence: Native land stewardship can outdo nature. Climate change is exponentially worsening, and if we know that Indigenous people are much better at managing land than colonizers have been for the past couple centuries, well... there's only one logical conclusion. Here are some key takeaways from the article so we can understand why LandBack is necessary:   Humans can make our surroundings better. Native land stewards have proven this: 'After more than a century on their own, Indigenous-created forest gardens of the Pacific Northwest support more pollinators, more seed-eating animals and more plant species than the supposedly "natural" conifer forests surrounding them.'   Our perception of "natural land" stems from Indigenous erasure. You know how scientists and naturalists talk about "natural" or "pristine" land? Well, a lot of this land was actually human-managed. It's just that these humans were often... to put it lightly, kicked out. And never talked about again. One popular example of the "pristine nature" myth: the Amazon rainforest was stewarded by people for thousands of years.   Anthropogenic ≠ bad. Have you heard of "anthropogenic climate change"? It means human-caused climate change, and this word is usually associated with humans doing bad stuff. But Indigenous people shaped ~3/4ths of the Earth's land for millennia. Biodiversity loss only accelerated with colonization. The problem is our practices, not our humanity.   We have to stop waiting for Western scientists to catch up with what Indigenous people have been saying for decades. Native land stewards have been watching out for the Earth before the scientific method was even a thing. It's time for #LandBack.  Read the full article here. Reply to this email with questions you have on LandBack. What do you want to learn about in the next 3 weeks? Do you have any must-include resources?   From the Soapbox 11/08 - My birthday + Indigenous food sovereignty fireside chat in our membership community. Members only, but wish me a happy birthday by joining?!   11/15 - Virtual community gathering. We meet every month in our online lounge to catch up and it's one of my favorite activities.  Join our community to get all our weekly events for free, make new friends, find sustainable product recs, look for jobs, and more. Upcoming   Next week, a short podcast/video further exploring land restitution.   Don't forget to create your Carbon Collective account today so that your retirement isn't funding climate destruction by investing in fossil fuels xoxo Copyright © 2021 Soapbox Project, All rights reserved. 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