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| Indigenous: peoples who inhabited a land before it was conquered by colonial societies and who consider themselves distinct from the societies currently governing those territories. |
There are between 300 and 500 million indigenous peoples around the world today. They occupy 20 percent of the land on Earth and “nurture 80 percent of the world’s cultural and biological diversity.”1 These peoples can be minorities or majorities in the states in which they currently reside.
For instance, the indigenous peoples of the United States (Native American Indians) and Canada (Native Canadian Indians) are small minorities of each state’s overall population; however, the indigenous people of Greenland (the Inuit) represent 85 to 90 percent of Greenland’s total population.2
Traditionally, indigenous peoples have been defined as those who inhabited a land before it was conquered by colonial societies and who consider themselves distinct from the societies currently governing those territories. This definition has distinct implications for the rights of indigenous peoples under international human rights law as will be discussed later in this brief. Regardless, in practice many indigenous peoples remain geographically and culturally separate from mainstream society, rendering state institutions foreign to many indigenous peoples’ conceptions of community and societal organization.
Protecting the rights of indigenous peoples gains particular importance when viewed in the context of their history. The unique legacy of colonial exploitation and destruction fundamentally undermined their group identities and rights. Additionally, colonialism was an external force on these already existing groups that systematically impacted their prospects for autonomy, equality, and dignity.
In fact, despite their wide spread presence around the globe, indigenous peoples have historically suffered significant injustice of varying degrees, from denial of participation in governance to enslavement, torture, and extermination. Indigenous peoples continue to face significant inequality in many areas around the world. Their life expectancy is 10 to 20 years lower than the general population in the Americas and they tend to have less access to health care, education, and economic opportunity.3 The ongoing, global scale of the threat to indigenous peoples makes current protections of nondiscrimination and freedom of association inadequate.4
For further information on indigenous rights, please refer to the Climate Change and Indigenous People news analysis, as well as Ask the Experts: Dr. Susan Aaronson on Trade and Human Rights.
1 “Study Guide: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples”
3 “Indigenous Peoples: A Backgrounder”