The Silent Privilege of the White Immigrant Label in U.S. Policy

European colonists, often revered as the "Founding Fathers," seized Indigenous lands under fabricated claims of legal ownership, reshaping history to justify colonization. This manufactured legitimacy criminalized Native peoples and framed them as obstacles to Western expansion, while ignoring their ancestral ties to the land now known as Turtle Island. The resulting legal and cultural systems continue to marginalize Indigenous communities, upholding a legacy of displacement and erasure. In response, movements like LandBack have gained momentum, calling not only for restitution of stolen lands but also for the recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) reinforces this cause, advocating for reparations, cultural preservation, and the dismantling of colonial power structures. As society reckons with historical injustices, one central question echoes louder than ever: Whose land is it, really? The answer demands courage, truth, and justice—because acknowledgment without action is not enough.