Maps are powerful political tools shaping a nation’s past, present and future – counter maps allow everyday people to reclaim the narrative

Turtle Island is what some Indigenous peoples call North America. This counter map is oriented to the east, the direction of the rising sun. The Decolonial Atlas, CC BY-NC-ND

Throughout time, maps have been useful tools for those in power to stake their claim over territories and markets. Politicians start nationwide redistricting battles to ensure partisan control, weakening the power of voters. The Trump administration’s geopolitical posturing over Greenland builds on a long history of imperialism aided by maps. And in ancient Rome, the Peutinger map depicted vast ideas of empire by placing Rome at the center of the world.

But maps can also tell hidden stories about politics and power that help people reclaim access to their own spaces and futures. These include counter maps – that is, maps that rework existing assumptions – to expand on the dominant narratives about a place to include viewpoints that were previously excluded.