The San Luis Valley Mountain That Owns Itself

The Land That Owns Itself Framework:  

Sacred Contract has developed a process by which land can become legally self-owning and in which the voice of the land is represented by Indigenous people and others who listen to the land. This process entails two dimensions:

• The Land That Owns Itself is a legal structure that treats ecosystems (soil, climate, water, flora, and fauna) not as property but as their own titleholders. The deed for a parcel of land is actually transferred to the ecosystems themselves. There is also a conservation easement created for the Land which recognizes the legal rights of those ecosystems. 
• Each ecosystem is represented by a human guardian or guardianship council as the voice of that ecosystem, with each guardian legally bound to act in the best interests of the individual ecosystems.

The San Luis Valley Mountain Pilot:

In 2025, a Mountain in the San Luis Valley became the first mountain to own itself. An Indigenous-led guardianship council has been constituted to take care of the Mountain’s needs and uphold the Mountain’s rights, in perpetuity. These five guardians are in a process of deep listening with the Land to steward it with care, promoting its health and vitality.    

The Mountains’ Guardians have created a vision and purpose statement to guide their collective stewardship and intention:

Vision:

Our vision is to nurture a transformative shift in the paradigm of our human relationship to Land. We envision the sovereignty of the first mountain to “own itself" in the United States, inspiring humanity to embrace a sacred, reciprocal bond with nature that is rooted in love and accountability for generations to come. We and future guardians hold our stewardship of the Mountain and her sovereignty in a way that her ecosystems are revered as living beings, where healthy relationships between the Mountains Ancestors, ecosystems, and all of her relations thrive. 

Purpose: 

Built from a commitment to deep listening and respect for land sovereignty, the guardianship council acts as a voice to serve The Mountain, her waters, soils, air, plants and animals. Prioritizing her health, we ensure every decision serves the current and future interests of the Mountain and all of our relations through passing our cultivated and ancestral wisdom forward to the youth and future generations.

The Mountains’ Guardians Objectives:

• To continue their deep listening and building of relationship to the Mountain.
• To put up necessary signage to make visitors aware that the Land Owns Itself and has the legal rights to exist, flourish, regenerate, evolve, thrive, and be restored.
• To prepare an ecological assessment and to apply traditional ecological knowledge to address any needs the land may have, to support its overall health and wellbeing.  The contributions from this Funding Round will go directly to supporting the objectives of the Mountains’ Guardians. 

About the San Luis Valley, Colorado

The San Luis Valley, where the Mountain resides, is a very special place both ecologically and spiritually. It is the ancestral lands of the Southern Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Ute Tribe of the Uinta and Ouray Reservation, Pueblo of Acoma, Pueblo de Cochiti, Pueblo of Isleta, Pueblo of Jemez, Pueblo of Laguna, Pueblo of Nambe, Pueblo of Picuris, Pueblo of Pojoaque, Pueblo of Sandia, Pueblo of San Felipe, Pueblo of San Ildefonso, Pueblo of Santa Ana, Santa Clara Pueblo, Santo Domingo Pueblo, Taos Pueblo, Pueblo of Tesuque, Pueblo of Zia, Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Jicarilla Apache, Cheyenne, Navajo (Diné), Hopi, Comanche Nation, Ohkay Owingeh, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Zuni, and Kiowa Tribe. Each tribe considers the San Luis Valley as not just a special place, but home. They all have their own distinct cultural practices, dress, traditional tools, recipes, and artwork. 

The San Luis Valley is also home to the Great Sand Dunes, the tallest dunes in North America, and Mt. Sisnaajini, one of four sacred mountains to the Navajo (Dine') people. It is the largest high-altitude desert in North America, headwaters of the Rio Grande River, and part of the Great Sandhill Crane migration route.