Land rights force settlers to take accountability.
Bradford, 5 (William – Chiricahua Apache/Associate prof of Law @ Indiana University School of Law, 66 Ohio St. L.J. 1, lexis,)
<B. Land Theft n65 The relationship between the land and Indian people is fundamental to their physical and cultural survival as distinct, autonomous groups. Indian land is constitutive of the Indian cultural identity n66 and designative of the boundaries of the Indian cultural universe. n67 Long before first contact with European "discoverers," Indians proclaimed a sacred responsibility to preserve and transmit Indian land, and with it identity, religion, and culture, to successive generations. n68 [*14] The discharge of that responsibility has been compromised by U.S. policies of land acquisition ranging from fraud to outright theft.>