The Native Land Trust Reparation Pledge Project

What if you could set right a historical injustice, starting in your own backyard?

Long before your street had a name, the land beneath your home belonged to Native people. For the Pocasset and many other tribes, that land was taken through dishonored treaties, land deeds written in English, and eminent domain.

The Native Land Reparation Pledge Project offers a simple, personal way to respond. When you sell your home, you donate 1% or more of the sale price to the tribe whose land you lived on. No paperwork beyond a pledge. No legal obligation. Just a commitment to acknowledge the past and do something about it.

Native land reparation involves efforts to address historical injustice from colonization, forced displacement, cultural genocide, and other forms of oppression. It seeks to amplify the voices of Indigenous communities and advance the cause of justice and reconciliation for past wrongs committed against them.

Why this matters

Every property in America sits on land that was once Native land. In southeastern New England, the Pocasset and neighboring tribes lost their territories not through fair exchange but through treaties that were broken, deeds written in a language they were never given the chance to read, and government seizure.

Reparation doesn’t undo that history. But it does something real: it returns a portion of the wealth that land has generated back to the people it was taken from. It puts resources in the hands of tribal communities, and it tells your neighbors that this history is worth reckoning with.

One percent of a home sale is a small number. Multiplied across a movement, it isn’t.

How the Pledge works

  • 1. Sign the Pledge.

    You can make the Pledge at any time, well in advance of selling your home. It’s a commitment of conscience, not a contract — the Pledge is not legally binding.

  • 2. When you sell, calculate your reparation.

    After the sale of your home, set aside 1% of the sale price, or more if you feel inspired to give more.

  • 3. Identify the Indigenous community.

    Direct your reparation to the tribe or territory whose land your property occupies. If there is no Indigenous presence connected to that land today, you can contribute to a Native-led organization instead. The choice of recipient is yours.

  • 4. Give directly.

    Submit your reparation payment directly to that tribe or organization. Donations are tax deductible.

What signing the Pledge means

  • It can be made well in advance of a home sale.

    Most people sign years before they sell. The Pledge travels with your intention, not your closing date.

  • It is not legally binding.

    This is a voluntary commitment, made freely and kept on your honor.

  • You choose the recipient.

    Your reparation goes to the tribe of your choice — ideally the community whose ancestral land your home occupies.

  • It is tax deductible.

    Reparation payments made to qualifying organizations can be deducted like other charitable contributions.

Join the movement

Whether you’re selling next month or decades from now, you can take the Pledge today.