The Land That Owns Us: Identity and Place of Birth

Abstract

The 21st century world has become a place of immigrants, refugees, newcomers, and displaced persons. Many are exiled from their place of birth, and easy modes of transportation have allowed people who have the means to do so, to move freely about the Earth. Whether by choice or forced by socioeconomic or political reasons, the people of the Earth are on the move. So, where does the identity of the person lie? Is it with the new environment, or do immigrants always long for the land or place of their birth? This essay draws on readings from the fields of native science, ecopsychology, and deep ecology to explore the ways that an individual's identity is rooted or can be rooted in the place of their birth and childhood, and even after they have moved from this place, it still informs their being in myriad ways.