As your favorite Mexican-American Indian on campus, I come bearing news. It’s time for you to be absolved. You’re free — free from the weight of your white guilt. I’ve heard the apologies, felt the anxiety in conversations, seen the careful tiptoeing around race. But let me say it loud and clear: You don’t have to carry this burden anymore, not for my sake or anyone’s.

I’ve spent a lot of time on this campus as a student activist, contributing to the College’s repeated efforts to acknowledge Indigenous history, improve Indigenous visibility, and address the weight of colonialism. And for a while, I believed in that work. I thought that by amplifying our voices and keeping the conversation alive, we could really make a difference. And in some ways, we have. 

But as time passed, I started to see the limits of it. It wasn’t until I traveled the world — saw different ways of life, lived with people who had their own histories of struggle — that my outlook shifted. In every place, from Ecuador to South Africa, Nepal to Vietnam, I saw the same thing: people carrying the weight of history, but also finding ways to move forward. And  not through guilt or endless academic analysis, but through something far simpler: compassion.

That’s what it all came down to for me. It’s easy to get caught up in the intellectual side of activism — theorizing, dissecting oppression, and acknowledging historical trauma. But compassion, real compassion, isn’t about rehashing the past. It’s about understanding others’ suffering and choosing to respond with kindness, not judgment. I started to realize that the real difference we can make doesn’t just come from amplifying voices or keeping conversations alive — it’s through how we treat each other, here and now.

Traveling showed me that people everywhere are suffering in some way, and the best way to heal isn’t by constantly reminding ourselves of our divisions. It’s by reaching across them. It’s by defining people not by historical roles or privilege, but as human beings. So while the work I did on campus mattered, what matters more now is how I live — with compassion, with understanding, and with the knowledge that forgiveness is more powerful than guilt.

I’ve sat through enough classes on intersectionality to know the script by heart. Ideologically captured professors and students will say Indigenous people are the most marginalized, the most oppressed, and victims of history’s original sin: displacement, genocide, and colonialism. And while that’s true in a historical sense, I’m right here, homie. Like, bro, we’re sitting in class together. 

And newsflash, I’m not your perfect ecological Indian, nor will I ever be, because we Indians are flawed just like everybody else. I’m not saying we should forget the past, but we can’t keep treating Indigenous identity like a permanent scar everyone has to feel guilty about. It’s unproductive and unrealistic, and we were all indigenous at some point.

Contemporary race politics have separated us. What should be about empathy, understanding, and progress has turned into a rigid script of empty land acknowledgments. I’ve seen people walk around like they’re carrying the original sin just for being born white. I’m tired of it — tired of watching people get caught up in guilt that doesn’t serve anyone. That cloud of guilt hanging over every conversation about race or privilege doesn’t help Indigenous people. It doesn’t help anyone. I’ve seen people twist themselves into knots trying to show how “aware” they are of their privilege, but you won’t make a real change by apologizing for something you didn’t cause. What matters is how you live and what you do with what you’ve got. Be invested in the relationships you have, go into a conversation without the need to prove a point — it’s less about words and more about actions that are motivated by true compassion.

Let me give a quick public service announcement so I don’t get canceled. Racism, colonialism, and the injustices faced by marginalized communities are real and must be confronted. This op-ed isn’t about denying privilege or minimizing these issues — it’s a call to approach them differently. Guilt, while understandable, often divides and paralyzes us. Instead of focusing on guilt, let’s take responsibility: Listen, act, and support one another without shame.

I’m not suggesting we ignore history or privilege, but rather that we focus on building genuine connections rooted in compassion and shared humanity. Healing and progress come not from guilt, but from responsibility, empathy, and action. 

As an American Indian who’s sat through all the activism, all the acknowledgments, I’m telling you — you’re free from that weight. It’s time to stop thinking of yourself as guilty just for existing in a position of privilege. You’re allowed to be happy; you’re allowed to be at peace. 

Allow yourself to live without constantly questioning whether you deserve your position. Feeling guilty for your privilege? It’s not helping anyone. Instead, feel and practice gratitude. What you can do is be kind to yourself and to others. We’ve all got our own burdens and our own stories. 

Let go of it. Walk lighter. Allow yourself to be loved for who you are. It’s time to break free from the guilt traps we’ve set for ourselves. You’re more than just your skin color or your family’s bank account. 

Be kind. Be real. Stop judging yourself and others for things that were never in our control. So take a deep breath, let it go, and start living with more connection and more freedom. 

I forgive you. Your white guilt is forgiven. Now, let’s move forward together. 

Isaac Rivera ’26 is a biology major from Denver, Colo.