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Indigenous peoples confront a diverse range of concerns associated with their status and interaction with other cultural groups, as well as changes in their inhabited environment. Some challenges are specific to particular groups; however, other challenges are commonly experienced. Bartholomew Dean and Jerome Levi (2003) explore why and how the circumstances of indigenous peoples are improving in some places of the world, while their human rights continue to be abused in others.[62] These issues include cultural and linguistic preservation, land rights, ownership and exploitation of natural resources, political determination and autonomy, environmental degradation and incursion, poverty, health, and discrimination. The interaction between indigenous and non-indigenous societies throughout history has been complex, ranging from outright conflict and subjugation to some degree of mutual benefit and cultural transfer. A particular aspect of anthropological study involves investigation into the ramifications of what is termed first contact, the study of what occurs when two cultures first encounter one another. The situation can be further confused when there is a complicated or contested history of migration and population of a given region, which can give rise to disputes about primacy and ownership of the land and resources. A reference page devoted to Indigenous Matters on the website of The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) includes the following passage. Trask observes that “indigenous peoples are defined in terms of collective aboriginal occupation prior to colonial settlement.”[63] She points one an important difference between indigenous history and that of settler history: settlers can claim a voluntary status-- they chose to relocate to lands where their descendants now claim a legal inheritance. Indigenous peoples have an involuntary status: their physical lives on homeland areas are tied to emergence or other creation stories. Their formal nationalities were imposed upon them by outside governments.[64] The Bangladesh Government has stated that there are "no Indigenous Peoples in Bangladesh".[65] This has angered the Indigenous Peoples of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, collectively known as the Jumma (which include the Chakma, Marma, Tripura, Tenchungya, Chak, Pankho, Mru, Murung, Bawm, Lushai, Khyang, Gurkha, Assamese, Santal and Khumi).[66] Experts have protested against this move of the Bangladesh Government and have questioned the Government's definition of the term "Indigenous Peoples".[67][68] This move by the Bangladesh Government is seen by the Indigenous Peoples of Bangladesh as another step by the Government to further erode their already limited rights.[69] Wherever indigenous cultural identity is asserted, common societal issues and concerns arise from the indigenous status. These concerns are often not unique to indigenous groups. Despite the diversity of Indigenous peoples, it may be noted that they share common problems and issues in dealing with the prevailing, or invading, society. They are generally concerned that the cultures of Indigenous peoples are being lost and that indigenous peoples suffer both discrimination and pressure to assimilate into their surrounding societies. This is borne out by the fact that the lands and cultures of nearly all of the peoples listed at the end of this article are under threat. Notable exceptions are the Sakha and Komi peoples (two of the northern indigenous peoples of Russia), who now control their own autonomous republics within the Russian state, and the Canadian Inuit, who form a majority of the territory of Nunavut (created in 1999). A scene depicting the Chinese campaign against the indigenous Miao people in Hunan in 1795. It is also sometimes argued that it is important for the human species as a whole to preserve a wide range of cultural diversity as possible, and that the protection of indigenous cultures is vital to this enterprise. An example of this occurred in 2002 when the Government of Botswana expelled all the Kalahari San from their lands[70] where they had lived for at least twenty thousand years. President Festus Mogai has described the San as "stone age creatures"[71] and a minister for local government, Margaret Nasha, likened public criticism of their eviction to criticism of the culling of elephants.[72] In 2006, the Botswanan High Court ruled that the San had a right to return to their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.[73][74] Health issues In December 1993, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People, and requested UN specialized agencies to consider with governments and indigenous people how they can contribute to the success of the Decade of Indigenous People, commencing in December 1994. As a consequence, the World Health Organization, at its Forty-seventh World Health Assembly established a core advisory group of indigenous representatives with special knowledge of the health needs and resources of their communities, thus beginning a long-term commitment to the issue of the health of indigenous peoples.[75] The WHO notes that "Statistical data on the health status of indigenous peoples is scarce. This is especially notable for indigenous peoples in Africa, Asia and eastern Europe", but snapshots from various countries, where such statistics are available, show that indigenous people are in worse health than the general population, in advanced and developing countries alike: higher incidence of diabetes in some regions of Australia;[76] higher prevalence of poor sanitation and lack of safe water among Twa households in Rwanda;[77] a greater prevalence of childbirths without prenatal care among ethnic minorities in Vietnam;[78] suicide rates among Inuit youth in Canada are eleven times higher than the national average;[79] infant mortality rates are higher for indigenous peoples everywhere.[80] International bodies concerned with indigenous peoples' rights African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR) United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues United Nations Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous Peoples United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations (discontinued) Non-governmental Organizations working for indigenous peoples' rights See also: List of indigenous rights organizations Various organizations are devoted to the preservation or study of indigenous peoples. Of these, several have widely recognized credentials to act as an intermediary or representative on behalf of indigenous peoples' groups, in negotiations on indigenous issues with governments and international organizations. These include: Akha girl in Laos Center for World Indigenous Studies Cultural Survival Earth Peoples Friends of Peoples Close to Nature (fPcN) Forest Peoples Programme Incomindios Switzerland Indigenous Dialogues Indigenous Peoples' Center for Documentation, Research and Information (doCip) Indigenous Peoples of Africa Co-ordinating Committee (IPACC) International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs (IWGIA) Minority Rights Group International Netherlands Center for Indigenous Peoples (NCIV) Survival International International Day of the World's Indigenous People Main article: International Day of the World's Indigenous People The International Day of the World's Indigenous People falls on 9 August as this was the date of the first meeting in 1982 of the United Nations Working Group of Indigenous Populations of the Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities of the Commission on Human Rights. The UN General Assembly decided on 23 December 1994 that the International Day of the World's Indigenous People should be observed on 9 August every year during the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (resolution 49/214). Thereafter, on 20 December 2004, the General Assembly decided to continue observing the International Day of Indigenous People every year during the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (2005–2014) (resolution 59/174).[81] |
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