Melissa Fergusson has published “#Landback to Indigenous Peoples from “Land-Grab” Universities” in the Cornell Law Review. PDF

Here is the abstract:

The Morrill Land Grant Act of 1862 (Morrill Act) was the first federal legislation to fund public higher education in the United States, funding fifty-two land-grant universities (LGUs) that still exist today. While the purpose of the Act was to “democratiz[e] . . . education” focusing on the study of agriculture and mechanical arts, it created LGUs by taking Indigenous land. In 2020, High Country News issued an investigative report, “Land-Grab Universities,” documenting how LGUs were established both on occupied Indigenous land and through the sale of Indigenous land taken by treaty, land cession, or seizure, which provided seed money for the universities. While some LGUs have increased support for Indigenous students through tuition assistance or increased funding for Indigenous studies, none have implemented land return to Indigenous peoples.

This Note analyzes potential remedies to redress the taking of Indigenous lands by the Morrill Act in the context of the #LandBack movement. Part I discusses the Morrill Act provisions and impact as well as the historical context. Part II discusses the modern-day #LandBack movement and past #LandBack actions at the federal and state levels. Part III provides a survey of current responses from LGUs to their Morrill Act legacy. Part IV explains why #LandBack is needed to make amends to Indigenous peoples for the taking of their lands via the Morrill Act. Part V identifies #LandBack remedies that LGUs can take to recompense Indigenous peoples and provides an implementation framework. It also proposes legislative reform, including creating a cause of action for land claims, to compensate Indigenous peoples for the taking of their lands via the Morrill Act.