When they take the land, they take everything.

Part Five: The Enclosures

There was a time when land was a shared gift, not a possession.

A time when women farmed, governed, and provided for their communities—when the earth was not a commodity but a birthright.

A time when power did not flow from banks, kings, or corporations, but from the land itself—held in common, sustaining all who lived upon it.

But that time was stolen.

The loss of land was the loss of sovereignty itself.

And we are witnessing the same story unfold again today.

The Enclosure of the Commons: How Women’s Economic Power Was Stolen

For centuries, across Europe, land was held in common—meaning it did not belong to any one person but was shared by the people who lived on it. Villagers farmed, hunted, and gathered food from this land. Women played a central role in these economies, growing crops, raising animals, weaving textiles, and practicing medicine. Their survival did not depend on men—it depended on their relationship with the land.

But between the 15th and 19th centuries, that land was stolen.

Through a process known as the Enclosure of the Commons, kings and landlords seized common lands, fenced them off, and claimed them as private property.

• Women, who had sustained themselves for generations, were forcibly removed.
• Widows and unmarried women, once able to survive independently, were left with few options: marry, enter servitude, or starve.
• Those who resisted were labeled vagrants, criminals, or witches—and many were punished accordingly.

This was not just about land.

It was about control.

The Enclosures forced people into economic dependence on landlords and wages. Those who had once sustained themselves freely were now required to pay for access to what had once been theirs.

And today, we are watching a modern version of this play out.

The New Enclosure: Privatizing Our Public Lands

The last of our shared lands—our national parks, protected forests, and Indigenous territories—are being handed over to private interests, just as the common lands once were.

Millions of acres of public lands are being auctioned off for private profit, mirroring the same tactics used during the original enclosures:

• Over 1,000 National Park Service employees have been laid off, including rangers, maintenance workers, and emergency responders. This has left many parks understaffed, increasing safety risks and reducing access. (AP News)
• Trump has overseen the largest rollback of public land protections in U.S. history, including shrinking Bears Ears National Monument by 85%, clearing the way for corporate mining and drilling. (Washington Post)
• Oil and gas drilling leases on federal lands have been sold for as little as $1.50 per acre, transferring public resources into corporate hands at bargain prices. (Bureau of Land Management)

This is not just about energy policy.

It is about who controls access to land, resources, and economic security.

When public lands are privatized, wealth is extracted from local economies and consolidated into corporate hands. The people who rely on these lands—Indigenous communities, conservation workers, and rural economies—are left with fewer options.

And history tells us what happens next.

The Final Enclosures: What Comes After Oil

Make no mistake—oil is just the beginning.

Once fossil fuel companies have extracted what they can, the next enclosures will come swiftly:

• Water privatization – Corporations like Nestlé have already secured water rights in drought-stricken areas, selling essential resources back to the public at a premium. (The Guardian)
• Seed control – Agribusiness giants like Monsanto have patented seeds, forcing farmers to rely on corporate-owned agriculture. (National Geographic)
• Climate-driven displacement – As extreme weather makes land unlivable, real estate developers and private companies are poised to profit from disaster recovery and relocation. (Yale Environment 360)

The land is being fenced off once again.

The question is—who will fight to keep it free?

The Real Path to Sovereignty: Reclaiming the Land

True sovereignty is about reclaiming the right to exist outside corporate control.

That means:

• Fighting to keep public lands out of corporate hands.
• Supporting Indigenous-led resistance against land theft and extraction projects.
• Building local food and water networks that are not dependent on corporate control.
• Recognizing that sovereignty is not just personal—it is collective.

Because when they take the land, they take everything.

And history will ask:

Who fought to keep it free?

Reflection Questions

Have I fallen for the illusion that I can separate my political choices from their impact on the land and resources we all depend on?

What have I been taught about land ownership, and how does that shape my understanding of sovereignty?

How can I begin reclaiming the land in my own life—whether through food, water, community, or land stewardship?

What Indigenous-led movements can I support that are actively fighting to protect public lands?

What Comes Next

Taking the land was never just about resources.

It was about controlling the future.

Because when you control who has access to land, you control who thrives and who struggles.

And when you control who has access to knowledge, you control who leads and who follows.

Throughout history, those in power have understood that to maintain control, they must control what people are allowed to know.

Books have been burned.

Histories have been rewritten.

Truth has been buried.

And today, the same forces that seized the land are now seizing education, information, and intellectual freedom.

Next, we name how the war on knowledge is being waged—and why the powerful fear educated, informed people more than anything else.

With love and fire,

Sarah & Kelly

How to Join Us in Ceremony

Our upcoming full-day Ceremony, REMEMBER, at Old South Church in Boston is happening on April 28. A gathering of 800 women, reclaiming what was lost. Join us.

ICYMI:

Introduction: An Invitation to Remember

Part one: When God became a man — the first erasure

Part two: The witch hunts — the weaponization of fear

Part three: Mary Magdalene — the Feminine Christ they erased

Part four: Colonialism – how patriarchy was enforced globally

Mid-point Check-In: how to hold yourself through this process