Colonization haunts many people living around the United States, and even the world. But what is it, really? Colonialism is when one country takes control of another place, causing the colonized people to lose land, power, resources, and cultural freedom for the benefit of the colonizer. Colonizing powers often utilize technological advances to create their own systems of infrastructure and education. At first, it might sound like it brought helpful things—but those supposed “benefits” often caused far more harm to colonized people than good. These harms persist to this day, and many communities continue to feel their effects.

Loss of Land and Home

Losing land was one of the most painful wounds. Land was not just property, but home, history, and identity. Take the Native Americans living in North America, for instance. The U.S. National Park Service and “Native tribes have lost 99% of their land in the United States” explain that Native nations were pushed off of their lands, which forced tribes to move and made a “loss of tradition and identity” unavoidable. With an average forced relocation of 241 km, and some tribes being moved over 2,500 km, laws like the Indian Removal Act caused cultural continuity to be broken. The act led to the staggering loss of 98.9% of historical lands and 42% of tribes today having no recognized land. This demonstrates how dispossession translated into the erosion of tradition and identity and ancestral homes turning into state-controlled geography. 

This loss meant people could no longer farm, hunt, or live in the places their families had known for generations. It severed the bond between communities and the land that had sustained them economically, culturally, and spiritually. It was like having your favorite hangout spot—the place where you grew up, made memories, and knew every corner by heart—suddenly torn down. That land was where Native Americans learned how to live, where their traditions originated, and where their families felt a sense of grounding. When it was taken away, they weren’t just losing a place; they were losing the comfort, routine, and identity that came with it. Losing it was like having their family history and future map forcibly removed.

Native American people were pushed onto reservations, and many children were taken to boarding schools. These schools were designed to strip away everything that made children Indigenous, trying to force them into a mold that the government found acceptable. The boarding schools erased their languages, cultures, and identities as part of a larger system of forced assimilation. The government tried to force Native people to act and live like white Americans, but Native communities resisted by cultural survival, political organizing, legal battles, and the preservation of their traditions. The U.S. government often answered with violence or strict laws, although later, it made some efforts to recognize Native rights.

Loss of Culture

Colonization also damaged cultural traditions, banning many significant practices. Colonized people were taught that their own culture was “wrong” or “backward.” For example, the Library of Congress explains that in India, British rule changed local customs, education, and social systems, a major example of cultural disruption. Schools were redesigned to teach British ideas instead of local languages and traditions, and many long‑standing customs—like how villages were governed or how people passed down knowledge—were replaced with British systems. Cultural clothes were also seen as inferior, causing people to adopt Britain’s style of clothing. A simpler way to think about this is it’s like someone taking your backpack and replacing everything inside with stuff you don’t recognize. Colonization meant people in India suddenly had to follow new rules, learn new lessons, and live by systems that weren’t theirs, even though they had carried their own traditions for generations.

Economic Inequality

Colonization also created unfair economic systems. Colonizers took valuable resources like gold, oil, and crops, and sent them away for their own profit. Local people often worked long hours to extract resources for very little pay, and in some regions, the violence used to force this labor was extreme. Under King Leopold’s rule in the Congo, people faced brutal punishments when they did not meet rubber quotas, showing how exploitation was enforced through fear. British colonizers also used deadly force, as seen in the Amritsar massacre in India when soldiers fired on unarmed civilians who had gathered peacefully. The United Nations University notes that many former colonies still struggle with poverty because colonial systems were built to benefit the colonizers, not the local people. This paved a form of structural inequality that still exists today.

How These Wounds Show Up Today

The wounds of colonization still show up today, like cracks in a foundation that was never repaired. Some communities still struggle with unequal access to schools and healthcare, while many Indigenous languages are fading like voices being lost in a noisy room. Poverty remains common in places that were once colonized. People continue to wrestle with identity and belonging, as if they’re trying to piece together a story with missing pages. These aren’t old problems; they’re present-day realities shaped by what happened in the past.