Invisible Yet Unbroken: The Struggle for Identity and Survival

Growing up in an Indigenous community facing ongoing marginalization, dominated by the mainstream, is to experience a constant battle for recognition and survival. While much of it remains not visible, Indigenous peoples face deep injustices repeatedly, from the erasure of their identity to the theft of their ancestral land. These experiences aren’t just abstract policy issues, they are lived realities that shape entire lives. The most painful part is watching, feeling, and knowing you are invisible in the very land your parents called home.

Imagine growing up without your identity being recognized. For Indigenous communities, mainstream society often dismisses their culture and history, labeling them as "ethnic minorities" or "tribal groups". But it's more than just terminology: it's a systematic denial of their existence. This rejection becomes painfully clear when their ancestral ties to the land are ignored, and their right to exist as a distinct people is questioned. For a child, this is so confusing and frustrating. As they grow older, they begin to realize that this denial is not just about ignoring but erasing. Community identities and their stories are seen as inconvenient truths that do not fit dominant narratives. How can a person make sense of his own when his culture is dismissed by the society around him? Answer: They often don't.

For Indigenous people, land isn’t just property- it’s the foundation of their identity, their culture, their history, and their future. But in these communities, land is slipping away. Settlers, with the backing of the dominant society, come to Indigenous lands with the promise of attractive lures presenting growth, development, and opportunity. For Indigenous people, however, this "development" means displacement and the loss of the land that has sustained their ancestors for generations. This isn’t just about physical loss. It’s about the destruction of a cultural legacy. Watching land disappear, bit by bit, is watching the history of a community disappear with it. For those growing up in Indigenous communities, this is deeply rooted. It feels as if a piece of themselves is being taken away. When the land is gone, they are left to wonder: Where shall we go? What will happen to us?

Indigenous communities don’t just face displacement, they live under constant surveillance. Often, military or paramilitary forces are deployed under the pretense of maintaining "dominance," for Indigenous people, it feels like shutting their mouths. Living in such ways means learning to survive under the watchful eyes of those who see you as a potential threat. Any resistance, any questioning of the status quo, is seen as subversive. For a child or a young adult, this means growing up with a profound sense of fear and powerlessness. There is an unspoken rule: keep your head always down, don’t draw attention, and don’t resist. But the weight of that silence is suffocating. How do you reconcile living in a place where your ancestors are from, but where your voice, your actions, and your very existence are constantly monitored and suppressed?

Culture is everything, as it is their connection to the past, their bond with the present, and their hope for the future. But as they grow up, Indigenous youth watch as their culture slowly erodes. In schools, they are taught in the dominant language, their history is ignored, and their customs are seen as outdated or irrelevant. The loss of language is particularly painful. Each word in an Indigenous language holds layers of history, meaning, and tradition. But for many young people, their ability to speak their native language fades as the dominant culture encroaches. For an Indigenous child, watching this happen is heartbreaking. Their community’s stories, their elders’ wisdom, are at risk of being lost forever. This cultural erosion isn’t just about language, it’s about identity. Losing a language, a tradition, or a custom feels like losing a part of yourself. The world around them pushes them to assimilate, to leave their heritage behind. But for many, that heritage is the only thing that keeps them connected to who they truly are.

One of the most isolating aspects of growing up in a marginalized Indigenous community is feeling invisible. The struggles, pain, and injustice faced by these communities are rarely discussed in mainstream media. When Indigenous issues are mentioned, they are often misrepresented or seen through the lens of the dominant population, further distorting the truth.

For Indigenous youth, this means feeling isolated and forgotten. The rest of society goes on, seemingly indifferent to their existence. They learn that their struggles are not seen as worthy of attention. This sense of isolation fosters deep feelings of abandonment and invisibility, as though their pain simply does not matter to the outside world.

Yet, despite the overwhelming challenges, Indigenous communities are nothing if not resilient. Growing up there means learning resilience from an early age. You watch your elders fight to preserve the land, the culture, and the dignity of the people. You learn that, despite the attempts to erase your identity, your community has survived for generations, and that strength runs in your blood. For Indigenous youth, this resilience becomes a source of pride. They see that their people refuse to be broken, even when the odds are stacked against them. This sense of survival of resilience in the face of unimaginable hardship becomes the foundation of their identity.

As they grow older, Indigenous youth become increasingly aware of the deep injustice their people face. They begin to understand that their identity has been denied, their land taken, and their culture eroded all because the dominant society refuses to recognize their rights. This growing awareness often fuels a burning desire for justice. Justice, for Indigenous people, is not just about reclaiming what has been lost. It’s about ensuring that future generations don’t have to live with the same fear, the same marginalization, and the same erasure of their identity. It’s about fighting for a future where their culture, their land, and their existence are respected and valued.

Life is a mixture of pain, isolation, and resilience. The challenges they face the loss of land, the erosion of culture, and the fear of control are overwhelming, but their community’s strength keeps them going. Despite being invisible to the outside world, they remain unbroken. The fight for recognition and justice continues. The desire for their community to be seen, respected, and given the dignity it deserves drives Indigenous youth to speak out. The road ahead is difficult, but one thing is clear: these communities are strong. They have faced oppression before and survived. And as long as they continue to hold on to their heritage, their resilience will carry them forward, “Invisible, but Unbroken in Spirit”.