Native Americans considered land to be communal.
This language is commonly used when talking about differences between the European settlers and the Native Americans.
Tecumseh is quoted as saying that Indians needed to
...unite in claiming a common and equal right in the land, as it was at first, and should be now -- for it was never divided, but belongs to all.
By saying this, Tecumseh is laying out a much different understanding of land use than we have now. He sees the land as a communal resource that is to be used by all. He does not see it as Europeans saw it (and as we see it now), as a resource that could and should be owned by individuals who could keep it as their own and exclude others from using it.
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