Indigenous Peoples of the World
Who are the indigenous peoples of the world?
Dictionaries define indigenous as “originating in a particular
region or country; native; innate; inherent; natural.” The word
dates back to the Latin indigena, meaning native or original
inhabitant. The word indigenous has many meanings.
In every region of the world, many different cultural groups
live together and interact, but not all of these groups are
considered indigenous or native to their particular geographic
area.
In fact, it is those groups who claim a shared sense of
identity who are internationally recognized as “indigenous
peoples.” Throughout human history, peoples have migrated to
various regions of the Earth, and cultures have mingled and
exchanged influences. For these reasons the identification of indigenous peoples is not always
straightforward and simple.
Indigenous peoples inhabit large areas of the Earth’s surface. Spread across the world from
the Arctic to the South Pacific, they number, at a rough estimate, some 300 million people.
Indigenous or Aboriginal peoples are so-called because they were living on their lands before
settlers came from elsewhere; they are the descendants—according to one definition—of
those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different
cultures or ethnic origins arrived. The new arrivals later became dominant through conquest,
occupation, settlement, or other means.
Most indigenous peoples around the world have retained social,
cultural, economic, and political characteristics that are clearly
distinct from those of the other segments of the national
populations.
Throughout human history, whenever dominant neighbouring
peoples have expanded their territories or settlers from far
away have acquired new lands by force, the cultures and
livelihoods—even the very existence—of indigenous peoples
have been endangered. The threats to indigenous peoples’
cultures and lands, to their status and other legal rights as
distinct groups and as citizens, do not always take the same
forms as in earlier times. Although some groups have been
relatively successful, in most of the world indigenous peoples are still actively seeking
recognition of their identities and ways of life.
In spite of cultural and ethnic diversity, there are often
striking similarities between the problems, grievances, and
interests of the various indigenous peoples and, therefore,
in their presentations to international forums. Participation
of indigenous communities and organizations in United
Nations meetings has served to highlight these similarities.
It has often been the case—particularly since the
emergence of new nations in the wave of decolonization
which followed the Second World War—that indigenous
peoples insist on retaining their separate identity and
cultural heritage. It is now generally admitted that policies
of assimilation and integration aimed at bringing these
groups fully into the mainstream of majority populations are
usually counter-productive.
Examples of Indigenous Peoples
Africa
♦ Kung San of the Kalahari Desert (Botswana, Angola,
Namibia)
♦ Berbers of Morocco
♦ Hadzabe People of Tanzania
♦ Mbuti (Pygmies) of Zaire
♦ Maasai in East Africa
♦ Bantu and other ethnic minorities in Somalia
♦ Ogoni in Nigeria
♦ Tuareg people of Algeria, Libya, Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso
♦ Sahrawi of the Western Sahara
Asia
♦ Ainu people of Japan
♦ Assyrians of the Middle East (Aramaic speaking Christians)
♦ The Kazakhs, Mongols, Tajik, Tibetans, Ugyur, and Eurasian Nomads of
Kazakhstan, eastern Russia, and China
♦ The Miao and Hmong of southern China, Laos and Thailand
♦ The Shan and Karen peoples of Burma /Myanmar
♦ The Chakma of Pakistan
♦ The Kurds of Iraq, Iran, Syria, Turkey and parts of the former Soviet
Union
Australasia
♦ Maori of New Zealand
♦ Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia
Europe and the Americas
♦ Saami of Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark
♦ Inuit and Aleutians of Canada and circumpolar Europe
♦ American Indians of the U.S.
♦ First Nations and Métis of Canada
♦ Mayans of Guatemala and Mexico
♦ Aymaras of Bolivia and other Indians of South America
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