Accumulation by repossession: Capitalist settler colonialism in Coast Salish territory

Area of Science:

• Socio-economic studies
• Indigenous land rights
• Urban development

Background:

• Coast Salish First Nations in Vancouver are engaging in significant land reclamation and redevelopment.
• For-profit development corporations, such as Nch'ḵay̕ Development Corporation and Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Development Corporation, are key players in Vancouver's property market.
• These initiatives occur within the context of settler colonial history and its impact on land.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze how land repossession by First Nations is facilitated by settler colonial structures.
• To explore the concept of 'accumulation by repossession' in the context of Indigenous land claims.
• To examine the dual process of First Nations regaining land title and promoting urban capital accumulation.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of settler colonial forms (corporate decisions, legal judgments, political frameworks) enabling land disposal.
• Examination of large-scale development projects (e.g., Jericho, Sen̕áḵw) and their financial implications.
• Conceptualization of 'accumulation by repossession' as a framework for understanding contemporary land dynamics.

Main Results:

• Land repossession enables reintegration into capitalist economies, primarily through residential real estate.
• First Nations are regaining land title and political-economic control simultaneously with development activities.
• Urban capital accumulation is being driven by First Nations development corporations through privatized profit-making.

Conclusions:

• Settler colonial frameworks, paradoxically, created pathways for Indigenous land repossession and economic participation.
• The concept of 'accumulation by repossession' highlights a recursive relationship between past dispossession and present land strategies.
• Indigenous land 'improvement,' speculation, and private property creation are shaping both past dispossession and present repossession in Coast Salish territory.