What Land Means in Other Cultures

For many of the world's inhabitants, the meaning of "land" is rooted in tradition. In highly mobile urban settings, owning land boasts of an investment. Others may regard land with a strong attachment and a profound sense of "home."

"Land here in Poland is still considered not as a 'good' of some market value, but rather as a 'heritage,' something that describes your identity," says Czeslaw Czudek, new affiliate development director for HFH Poland.

Identifying with the land is an undeniable heritage of Native Americans, whose tribal names often are taken from nature. Chief Joseph, a member of the Nez Perce tribe who lived in the late 19th century, said, "The earth and myself are of one mind. The measure of the land and the measure of our bodies are the same."

Ironically, it is often the protected status of reservations that is a barrier to establishing decent, affordable housing on Indian lands. In traditional development projects, a lender provides a borrower with funds to build on the land, provided the lender can foreclose on the land or structure to recoup losses in the event that the borrower is unable to pay back the loan. However, many Native American lands are held in trust with the U.S. government, so the lands can seldom leave tribal ownership. Foreclosure in these cases is not a desirable option. Without the ability to foreclose, most lenders are unwilling to lend funds to Native Americans for building.

Another challenge can be obtaining permission to build on a particular piece of land. The Allotment Act in the 1880s provided for the distribution of reservation land among individual tribal members. After generations of Native Americans have left their allotments to their heirs, it is not uncommon for 30 to 40 people to have a legitimate claim to the same bit of land.

Despite the challenges, there has been progress. Native people want better houses, and they are willing to make the effort to build them on their land, says Jeri Lemke, HFHI's Native Peoples Initiative support manager. "None of these issues scares them off," she says.

While land is a foundation for Native Americans, a lack of land is a characteristic of the Roma culture in Eastern Europe. Commonly known as gypsies, the Roma people are believed to have come from northern India more than a thousand years ago. Dark skin and a nomadic lifestyle have made the Roma subject to discrimination and persecution. Now, fewer Roma maintain the nomadic lifestyle, but the stigma of being a gypsy remains.

Discrimination has made it difficult for the Roma to legally acquire land to live on. The alternative--squatting--is a lifestyle of poor sanitation, nonexistent educational opportunities and poverty.

Crossing all cultural lines is the desire for a home, for safety, for a spot to put down roots. As one Romanian gypsy says, "We keep hoping to have a home, to have something that is our own, not temporary. Something that belongs just to you, where nobody has any threat against you or problem with you."


--Rebekah Graydon





Reprinted from Habitat World Magazine, August/September 2000.
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©2000 Habitat for Humanity International