Reciprocity for Property Owners
Own Your Home?
Own Your Business?
Own Your History.
We all benefit from the places we call home.
For some, home means ownership and an asset that increases in value over time and creates wealth we can pass on to our children. For others, home means ancestral connections that challenge a colonial system of inter-generational dispossession.
Wealth accumulates in private property, especially real estate.
Those of us lucky enough to own real estate also quietly buy into (and benefit from) an ugly bit of colonial history complete with broken treaties, cultural genocide, environmental damage and illegal land piracy. Check out our friends at the Next 150, Reconciliation Canada or Native-lands if you want to learn more. Reciprocity helps you decolonize your backyard.
Not a tax. Not charity. Just reciprocity.
Indigenous Territorial Recognition Made Real
Private property is a major ongoing impact on indigenous rights, especially in urban areas. Would you feed your family shellfish harvested from a beach in Vancouver or Victoria? Government may be working on reconciliation, but they won’t touch private property. So what happens when government has already transferred big chunks of Indigenous land (or thousands of little chunks) to private property owners without Indigenous consent?
It’s a colonial mess that needs attention and we think some of that work needs to come from the grass roots.
As property owners, we are rolling up our sleeves along with several Indigenous governments in BC and aim to launch Reciprocity Payments soon. Log in, type in your home address, and find a simple, direct, and fun way to help decolonize the culture of home and change what it means to own property on Indigenous land.
What we are aiming for is a house-by-house 21st-century DIY reboot of the mutual recognition, respect and sharing (that would be reciprocity) talked about in the historic treaties. We think that same spirit and intent can directly connect us as private property owners with the Indigenous governments on who’s land we live, play and work. Think of it as territorial recognition made real – with tools and ongoing connections that help us decolonize our collective backyards.
How will Reciprocity Work for Property Owners?
Reciprocity is working towards launching a pilot program on Southern Vancouver Island, with a future vision to grow Reciprocity in major population centres and across the province. This pilot program will allow homeowners, renters, businesses, and others to make recognition meaningful through Reciprocity Payments tied to your home or business. To learn more about Reciprocity, please visit our dedicated site at reciprocitytrusts.ca.
- Reciprocity Payments are entirely voluntary!
- The minimum recommended Reciprocity Payment is equal to 12% of your property tax (about $350-$500 annually for the average BC household).
- If you make the recommended Reciprocity Payment, and your property is accepted by local Indigenous governments, it will receive a reciprocity designation for the year. You’ll also get door or yard signage to show off your reciprocity status to the neighbours. There are other things, beyond dollars, that you can do as well. Pre-register below to keep posted and find out more.
- With reciprocity, you are part of a community of welcome newcomers and have a direct and ongoing connection to local Indigenous Nations. Over time your property will support, rather than erode, Indigenous rights and governance, and will gain a reciprocity standing that sets it apart from the crowd when you look to sell or rent.
- At least 85 cents of every dollar will go directly to to support land, language and nation-rebuilding, as well as other Indigenous priorities defined by Indigenous governments and communities where you live . The remaining pennies stay with Reciprocity to grow our work and help build our quiet revolution. You’ll receive a thank-you and an end-of-year report that shows what your Reciprocity Payment contributed to.
- What if you rent? or are holding a particular event? You can be part of reciprocity too – we’ll have flexible options for renters and and for event hosts who want to make territorial recognition meaningful. We’ll also have info you can use to help your landlord choose reciprocity as well.
- Stay tuned – we are also working on getting you a deductible receipt for your taxes 😁.
Interested?
Sign up below to stay in the loop on all things Reciprocity, or visit reciprocitytrusts.ca to learn more and pledge to join us in meaningfully recognizing Indigenous land rights.
Decolonize Your Backyard
You can start making reciprocity payments on reciprocitytrusts.ca soon, just in time for you to coordinate with your property taxes (due in BC in July). For now, let us know your name, email and where you live, then click on the button below so we can keep you posted.