The Beginning; Sacred Contract’s pilot project

The pilot “land that owns itself” project was completed in 2023 for a three acre parcel of forest in northeastern Washington State which abuts national forest land and other conservation land. Partnering with Sacred Contract, the title-holder placed a “rights of nature” easement on the land, the first of its kind in Washington State. That easement recognized the rights of the forest itself and the other ecosystems dependent on the land, as well as prohibiting development on the land. Next, Sacred Contract created an association consisting of the forest and its component ecosystems (the soil, the air, the fungal, wildlife, water, and other ecosystems) and obtained federal tax-exempt status for that association. Finally, Sacred Contract worked with the landowner to transfer title to the land to the ecosystems which comprise the association. Today, that three acre parcel of forest is the only land in the U.S. that legally owns itself.

Following that project, Sacred Contract began work with a a person in Colorado who held title to a mountain that is considered to be a “sacred site” for the indigenous tribes of the region. Sacred Contract has created an unincorporated association of the ecosystems that comprise the mountain, will be placing a “rights of nature” easement on the mountain, and finally, will transfer land title over to the ecosystems that exist within the unincorporated association.

For the Colorado project and all future projects, Sacred Contract is working to assemble a guardianship council which can serve as a voice for the ecosystems that comprise the unincorporated associations. Indigenous-led, these guardians will infuse cultural wisdom and land histories into their guardianship of the land. Sacred Contract is committed to supporting these indigenous guardianship councils, liberating more parcels of land into a self-ownership system, and protecting ecologically significant regions through enabling lands to own themselves.