Indigenous Land Rights Are Under Attack. One Man Is Fighting To Change That

For Indigenous communities, land rights are not just a legal issue, but the very foundation of their cultures, livelihoods, and futures,” said the 36-year-old founder of Land Rights Defenders

As people commemorate the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9, Nana Kwesi Osei Bonsu wants to highlight the importance of land to Indigenous people and communities.

“For Indigenous communities, land rights are not just a legal issue, but the very foundation of their cultures, livelihoods, and futures,” said the 36-year-old founder of ​Land Rights Defenders, a non-profit organization that advocates for Indigenous property rights. 

Bonsu argues that Indigenous people and communities have a deeply rooted cultural and spiritual connection to the land. That connection affects their livelihood and subsistence, self-determination and governance, and their determination to protect the environment. What’s more, it also shapes their response to historical injustices, or the systemic and enduring wrongs committed against Indigenous peoples throughout history. These often stem from colonization, dispossession, and forced assimilation.

​Bonsu fled his native Ghana for fear of persecution and torture stemming from a land rights dispute. Last year, the United States Department of Homeland Security granted him humanitarian parole. 

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