Beating the system: Ranjan Datta, ‘You Will Never Be Enough in a Settler Colonial System: Reclaiming Land-Based Identity as Decolonial Healing and Responsibility’, 5, 2, 2025, pp. 91-98 | settler colonial studies blog

Beating the system: Ranjan Datta, ‘You Will Never Be Enough in a Settler Colonial System: Reclaiming Land-Based Identity as Decolonial Healing and Responsibility’, 5, 2, 2025, pp. 91-98

04Dec25

Abstract: This decolonial, reflective story-sharing paper centers on reclaiming land-based identities as a ceremonial process of healing and resistance within the enduring structures of settler colonialism. Drawing from my lived experiences and guided by story-sharing methodology, it examines the systematic oppressions and reconstruction of identity, land, and spirituality imposed by settler colonial education, immigration, and governance systems. These Eurocentric systems sustain disconnections from land-based relationships while imposing hierarchical identities designed to maintain colonial power. Challenging these imposed narratives, this work affirms the significance of relational ways of knowing rooted in land-based ceremonies, responsibilities, and teachings. Positioned as both inquiry and activism, reflective story-sharing emerges as a vital decolonial method to resist settler colonial domination and advocate for land-based adaptions. Reclaiming stolen identities is framed not only as resistance but also as a political and spiritual act of love, responsibility, and healing—toward a future grounded in justice, reciprocity, and relational accountability.

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