“The land rightfully belongs to the people”
By what right? Did the people buy it or inherit it? Did they conquer it? Of course if by “the people” you mean the people of the United States, not the people of an individual state, the answer to my last two questions is “yes”.
“not to the government (state or federal).”
We agree there.
By the Constitution of the United States, the ratification agreements, prior contracts as covered in Article VI, the land does not belong to the Feds or the State Governments. It belongs to the people of the USA.