March 9, 2026 | Repost from indigenous.tv
More than 900 acres in the Adirondacks are being returned to Haudenosaunee care through a landmark land-back partnership in New York State.
The agreement brings together the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center, The Nature Conservancy, Paul Smith’s College, and the Adirondack Land Trust. Through the partnership, 600 acres were purchased and transferred to the Cultural Center, joining 330 acres of adjacent land already under its care.
Together, the land will be stewarded according to Haudenosaunee knowledge systems and ecological practices, with plans for a gathering space, cultural programming, and an Indigenous youth camp.
The return takes place in Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) territory — part of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy — and reflects a broader effort to reconnect Indigenous communities with ancestral lands.
“This acquisition… will serve as a classroom to share and learn Indigenous ecological knowledge for generations to come,” said David Fadden, director of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center.
The partnership also draws on the principles of the Two Row Wampum — a framework for coexistence that centers sovereignty and mutual respect.
