The Right To go home.

In the last few days, I have had the humble honor of joining with brothers and sisters from places and cultures that span the globe. We brought our hearts and minds together toward the common goal of expanding peace in all Indigenous Nations, Tribes, and Territories. Our time together helped us recognize the similarities in our stories, to hear one another’s voices with more compassionate understanding, and to feel the strength of our shared commitment for building a lasting peace. The long-held wisdom and traditions of Indigenous Peoples are essential guides for peaceful coexistence and for the furtherance of a relational ethic that includes the entire living world in a network of kinship, ensuring safety for all living beings. This has been and will continue to be the work of my life. This work connectsall those who have gathered here over these last days with one heart and one mind, but sadly our time of being together in this physical place is at an end. We will carry one another in our hearts until we can meet again.

Today, I have the opportunity to do something that many who have gathered here will not be able to do – I have the privilege of going home.

Going home – such a simple comfort that so many take for granted. Devastatingly, many of my friends do not have that privilege. During our time together, we remembered all those who will never go home again, because they had their lives taken by negligent industrial destruction, or were forced to give their lives in protection of their loved ones, homelands, and/orMother Earth. We also held in our hearts the millions who have been displaced or exiled from their homelands by armed conflicts and other forms of violence including the purposeful destruction of waters, forests, crops, and animals that people rely on for survival.

Currently, more than 180 Indigenous Nations, Tribes and Territories are being subjected to violent conflict. Relatives from many of these places were with us this past week. We came from more than 80 Indigenous Nations, Tribes, and Territories. There were representatives from Mali, the DRC, Nuba Mountain in Sudan, Kenya, Manipur, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Turkistan, Russia, Ukraine, Palestine, Columbia, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Thailand, Australia, Aotearoa, Akwesasne, Treaty-Six First Nation, Penawahpskek, Wolastoq, Anishinaabe, Blackfeet, Crow, Lakota, to name a few. They were sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers and even great grandmothers – every one of them sacred and beautiful and important.

I am reminded that far too many of their stories have been forgotten, dismissed, or normalized into invisibility. They deserve our remembrance.

In 2025 there were at least 46 Indigenous land defenders were murdered or disappeared in Latin America. It remains one of the most dangerous places in the world for those who stand in defense of Mother Earth, Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous Ways of Life.

During my trip, I was able to carve out some quiet time with some beloved friends who I have had the honor to work with for several years. At this moment, all are being directly impacted by violence and threats of violence in their homelands. I will not mention their names or specific details about them here, to protect them from being targeted for retributive violence.

One of my dear sisters has been forced to move from her home due to the war between Russia and Ukraine. She has lost two nephews and countless other loved ones in the last year, and she has painfully witnessed dozens of young people conscripted into war against their will, including those who were deported from the United State where they had come to seek sanctuary. Several of those young men have now died.

A much-loved brother from the DRC has not been able to go home for the last year. He has not been able to hug his family members or see their faces, simply because he is working to protect land and animals and broker peace between opposing factions. His work should be honored and uplifted, instead it subjects him to violence by those who profit from war.

One of my new sisters has been forced into a refugee camp in Burkina Faso, after fleeing violence in her home in Mali. Despite her horrific circumstances, she found her way to us and sat beside me helping draft language for a declaration of peace that included her relatives and neighbors.

These are human beings; they have families, they love and are loved. They are worth the discomfort that it causes us to see their struggles, hear their stories, and help bear the weight of their pain.

Today, I encourage you to hug your loved ones. Give thanks for the incredible privilege that allows you to be in your home. Call your circle together and say a prayer for those who are facing violence, exile, and other forms of warfare. Then, make a commitment to learn about a struggling People and determine what you can do to help uplift their voices, end the violence being aimed at them, and alleviate their suffering.

Men, stop destroying life - lay down your weapons, and open your hearts. Listen to the wise voices of the women, those who give life and protect life, they will lead you back to your humanity and help you find a peaceful path forward.

-Sherri Mitchell, Esq.

CEO of the Land Peace Foundation