Indigenous land and body sovereignty emphasizes that settler colonialism continues to infringe and enact violence upon the lands and bodies of Indigenous people in contexts of settler colonialism . Colonial representations characterize Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQ+ as being “at risk,” “in need,” “or somehow lacking” and thereby requiring colonial intervention. This fails to address the root causes of targeted violence inherent in settler colonial contexts and does not uphold the rightful sovereignty of Indigenous people over their lands and bodies.

At the center of Indigenous land and body sovereignty are decolonial understandings of consent and reciprocity in relations. As noted in Violence on the Land, Violence on Our Bodies, “in order to increase the recognition of free, prior, and informed consent over Indigenous territories we need to simultaneously build up the ways that consent is supported around people’s bodies.” Consent refers to ongoing, affirmative relations and is a foundational principle of the transformative relations guiding Pima’tisowin e’ mimtotaman. Listed below are resources to begin educating yourself about Indigenous land and body sovereignty.