Decolonizing Wealth: Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance

by Edgar Villanueva

With yourself, internalized oppression may manifest as inferiority, inadequacy, self-hatred, self-invalidation, self-doubt, isolation, fear, feelings of powerlessness, and despair. You might drive yourself into the ground in a quest for perfection and acceptance, or the opposite, you might throw in the towel and stop showing up for school or for work. You might develop compulsive behaviors, eating disorders, addictions. You might walk around loudly protesting that exploitation and oppression of people like yourself is a total myth. You might get stuck in one abusive relationship after another. You might suffer from depression, or have intense, disruptive outbursts of bitterness or anger. All of these behaviors map onto internalized oppression.