It sounds way less offensive to those who decry the original terminology’s problematic roots but still keeps its meaning intact.
considering the way that native/aboriginal people view the land that they inhabit, it’s pretty common for certain geographic places to be considered “sacred” or ritualistic. Prior to the colonization of these lands these people just existed, living on their land, little to no concept of “westernized land rights” until the western people showed up and colonized, killing a lot of them in the process.
And obviously there were fights, as per usual it’s the one constant behind who holds what land. But beyond fighting for your territory in a literal sense. Isn’t it funny that we all live on a piece of land that we bought and own or lease/rent from the local government? Who in turn is the legal rights holder of that land specifically. We as individual land owners aren’t fighting wars, it’s the government in this example who is the “haha i killed you it’s my land now” entity. Only to turn around and then go “here, you can have this but only if you give me money.”
Aside from the little slips of paper that we have, which are so called “binding agreements” between two or more individuals. The only thing that defines who owns what land, is who defends that title of ownership most successfully. And in this case, it’s the government. But the concept of land ownership itself is fucking stupid to begin with. How much land do we own? How do we own it? to what level of ownership does having a plot of land constitute? There are so many questions, and very few are answered.
You may own a piece of land, but if you have a river running through that property, you don’t own the river. It’s not a thing that you can do. You could also own a piece of land, say for example a random sand dune in indiana somewhere. And then consume that sand dune in the process of making funny blue colored glass for electrical insulators. Do you own the sand anymore? Do you own the land where the sand once was? Does that piece of land even exist anymore?