New proposals are surfacing to privatize Indigenous lands in North America. In recent years, some of these proposals are made by Indigenous peoples themselves. What is behind the proposals and what is their merit? Using theory and empirical data, this talk explores the usefulness of arguments concerning Indigenous peoples’ historical private property ownership, the necessity of personal private property collateralization for housing or commercial development, and the sufficiency of contracting workarounds for the development of communally held land. In so doing, it points to the potential trade-off in Indigenous institutional development between property rights and legal infrastructure, and it suggests that both theory fads and the misapplication of “best practices” have played a role in the new popularity of private landholding. Finally, it addresses long-range strategic thinking concerning the protection of Indigenous nations’ geographical boundaries. It closes by examining applicability of the findings from North America to Australia.

Miriam Jorgensen is Research Director for the Native Nations Institute for Leadership, Management, and Policy (NNI) at The University of Arizona, and Research Director for the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development, Harvard University.