Land Reform Principles


You have found the Land Reform Principles of The Land Office a project of the Imaginal Services Bureaux which is in turn a project of Cooperation Humboldt. We are imagining the most just use of property for sale in Humboldt County. We have a few principles to share about how we approach this work. Here we go…

First Principle: Colonization of Humboldt County is genocide which reverberates through continued settler land ownership. All land should be returned to local Native communities immediately. Folks who came to what is currently called Humboldt County after 1850 should learn the best way to live here from the Native people and plan on how to transition land back to the local people who have lived here since time immemorial.

Second Principle: Until such time that the First Principle is adopted by a majority of the populace of what is currently called Humboldt County, the work of The Land Office is to imagine what we think might be the best use of land in Humboldt County. You have any better ideas? Drop us a line or make your own website.

Third Principle: If there are tenants who wish to remain in their current location, our imagining is that these folks be able to stay in that location in a way that works with their budget. We imagine a system that plans out a clear path to tenant ownership for all who want it. In our imagined Humboldt renting will become just bad form.

Fourth Principle: We know we just suggested tenants should become owners in the Third Principle and that seems at odds with the First Principle. It’s complicated. So much so that we are going to codify our answer thus: We are open to learning as we go in a vulnerable way in public. We will make mistakes and will apologize and make efforts to make things right and commit grammatical errors as well, like run-on sentences. Our hearts are in the right place. Trust us.

Fifth Principle: Comedy is uncomfortable. It is alright to be uncomfortable. It is alright to have fun. The work of The Land Office is to encourage your discomfort and your mirth. The constructed reality of settler colonialist land management is absolutely ridiculous. It is time to change the way we understand the land and it starts with imagining a new world.

Okay. That was exhausting. But now you know the principles. We are expecting you to give us feedback. Bring it on…

This is the way back to the lobby of The Land Office.