This land is not ours.

As a visitor on this land, we would like to begin by acknowledging all the farmland we occupy in Northern IL is on unceded land claiming home to the nations of the Peoria, Bodwéwadmi (Potawatomi), Myaamia (Miami), oθaakiiwaki‧hina‧ki (Sauk) & Meškwahki·aša·hina (Fox), Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), Ho-Chunk, Odawa and Ojibwe people. 

Unceded land is stolen land. It is land that we are living and working on, and, in a very direct way, profiting from.

As farmers, we are part of a broad scale industry – agriculture and food production – that has been and continues to be exploitative of both the land and people of color. More specifically, we are part of the organic farming movement, which has centered white voices, contributions, and expertise all the while appropriating methods long practiced by cultures of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. Thus, we are part of a larger food system that is violently out of balance and entrenched in patterns of injustice.

As we live, work and derive our income directly from stolen land, we feel acutely responsible for the persistence of the systems put in place by those who colonized this land. We are ever increasingly aware of the benefits many of us young farmers have received and continue to receive from these imbalanced systems.  We acknowledge this and are committed to learning and listening, to doing the uncomfortable and ongoing work to dismantle white supremacy and oppression in our food system.

Today, Indigenous people continue to protect and remain in relationship with this land and will do so for all eternity. It is vital to honor these beginnings and recognize the ongoing dedication and importance of Indigenous culture within our communities and within the land that we gather, live, learn and work on. As land stewards and settlers in this place, we ask you Northern IL Young farmers to continuously learn from and elevate Indigenous experience, expertise, and voices in our community.  And we ask of our community: please hold us, and each other, accountable to grow with us towards racial justice on the land and in the food system. 

NIYF is compelled to advocate for the justice for Indigenous People and specifically their work in urban and rural growing spaces. We call on you to give your time, money, and support to the indigenous owned Chi-Nations Garden in Chicago, as well as elevate the voices of all indigenous farmers and people.