Rematriation

The term rematriation describes the process of "returning to the sacred Mother".^[1][2][3][4] 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.^[5][6][4] 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.^[4] It has also become a concept adopted and applied by academic spheres across numerous disciplines.^[6][7] 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.^[7][6]