Support a family land buyout!

Overview

Indigenous-owned land in Eastern North Carolina is at risk of being lost to forced sale. Coharie descendants of Leonard and Roberta Bell are aiming to raise $60,000. Funds will ensure that the title and deed to the land are secured, allowing it to remain under Indigenous stewardship.

Meet the Organizer

Ashley Salaz is an Indigenous storyteller and land steward living in Oakland, CA. She is an enrolled member of the Coharie Tribe, born and raised in the East Bay Area. Ashley began documenting Indigenous people in California through film and photography as a way to connect to a culture that she didn’t know growing up, and to tell modern stories of the people who have tended to this land since time immemorial. She is currently working for Sogorea Té Land Trust as a media artist and land team lead, helping to grow food and native plants on rematriated land in the Bay Area.

The Story

In the Eastern North Carolina town of Clinton, just one mile from the Coharie Tribal Center, lies 18 acres of rural land, once a thriving family farm that now sits overgrown and uncared for. This land holds the history and legacy of Ashley’s grandparents, Leonard and Roberta Bell, who were proud Coharie tribal members. They farmed this land, growing food crops, tobacco, cotton, and flowers, nourishing their family and community for decades.

They cared for the land and their small farmhouse until Leonard’s passing in the late '90s, and after Roberta’s death in 2009, the land was inherited by their four children, who had moved to California years earlier. Since then, the land has been overtaken by nature, and a tragic electrical fire in 2019 destroyed the small house.

Ashley’s experience working with Sogorea Te’ for the past two years has ignited a profound connection to rematriation—the Indigenous, women-led movement to restore sacred relationships between Indigenous peoples and their ancestral lands.

Guided by prayers and conversations with relatives, Ashley and her family envision returning the Bell land to Indigenous stewardship, growing food crops and medicinal plants once again, transforming it into a place of healing and nourishment for the family and the Coharie community for generations to come.

Vision for the Land

Dreams for the land include Little River Farm, which is an Indigenous, women-led project dedicated to preserving traditions, fostering community, and reconnecting people to the land through cultural programming and sustainable food systems. The vision includes a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program that offers low or no-cost food to the community, revitalizing Indigenous farming practices, cooking techniques, and food preservation methods that sustain Coharie traditions.

Call to Action

We need to raise $60,000 to save the Bell land from outside purchasers, ensuring it remains under Indigenous stewardship for the next seven generations. Together, we can safeguard this space, honor the ancestors, and build a future rooted in culture, sustainability, and community.

Please support the protection and preservation of Indigenous land by donating and sharing this GoFundMe with your communities today!