This paper draws upon existing literature to describe the dynamics of displacing peoples from their land and the intergenerational, sociological effects that follow. It presents cases from two regions of the world–the United States and India—where rural and tribal occupants have come into conflict within federal regimes in what many scholars are calling “land wars.” Both countries share a history of British colonial heritage which has provided a legal framework for land reallocation for national gain, and similarly both have since been heavily influenced by neoliberal economic values. The two examples serve to complement one another as tools for learning what interventions are possible for settling long-standing land disputes.