Haptic technology (also kinaesthetic communication or 3D touch) is technology that can create an experience of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. These technologies can be used to create virtual objects in a computer simulation, to control virtual objects, and to enhance remote control of machines and devices (telerobotics). Haptic devices may incorporate tactile sensors that measure forces exerted by the user on the interface. The word haptic, from the Greek: ἁπτικός (haptikos), means "tactile, pertaining to the sense of touch". Simple haptic devices are common in the form of game controllers, joysticks, and steering wheels.
Haptic technology facilitates investigation of how the human
sense of touch works by allowing the creation of controlled haptic
virtual objects. Most researchers distinguish three sensory systems related to sense of touch in humans: cutaneous, kinaesthetic and haptic. All perceptions mediated by cutaneous and kinaesthetic sensibility are referred to as tactual perception. The sense of touch may be classified as passive and active, and the term "haptic" is often associated with active touch to communicate or recognize objects.
History
One of the earliest applications of haptic technology was in large aircraft that use servomechanism systems to operate control surfaces. In lighter aircraft without servo systems, as the aircraft approached a stall,
the aerodynamic buffeting (vibrations) was felt in the pilot's
controls. This was a useful warning of a dangerous flight condition.
Servo systems tend to be "one-way", meaning external forces applied aerodynamically to the control surfaces are not perceived at the controls, resulting in the lack of this important sensory cue.
To address this, the missing normal forces are simulated with springs
and weights. The angle of attack is measured, and as the critical stall
point approaches a stick shaker is engaged which simulates the response of a simpler control system. Alternatively, the servo force may be measured and the signal directed to a servo system on the control, also known as force feedback. Force feedback has been implemented experimentally in some excavators
and is useful when excavating mixed material such as large rocks
embedded in silt or clay. It allows the operator to "feel" and work
around unseen obstacles.
In the 1960s, Paul Bach-y-Rita
developed a vision substitution system using a 20x20 array of metal
rods that could be raised and lowered, producing tactile "dots"
analogous to the pixels of a screen. People sitting in a chair equipped
with this device could identify pictures from the pattern of dots poked
into their backs.
The first US patent for a tactile telephone was granted to Thomas D. Shannon in 1973. An early tactile man-machine communication system was constructed by A. Michael Noll at Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. in the early 1970s and a patent was issued for his invention in 1975.
Aura Interactor vest
In 1994, the Aura Interactor vest was developed.
The vest is a wearable force-feedback device that monitors an audio
signal and uses electromagnetic actuator technology to convert bass
sound waves into vibrations that can represent such actions as a punch
or kick. The vest plugs into the audio output of a stereo, TV, or VCR and the audio signal is reproduced through a speaker embedded in the vest.
Jensen's Tap-in device
In 1995, Thomas Massie
developed the PHANToM (Personal HAptic iNTerface Mechanism) system. It
used thimble-like receptacles at the end of computerized arms into which
a person's fingers could be inserted, allowing them to "feel" an object
on a computer screen.
In 1995, Norwegian Geir Jensen described a wristwatch haptic device with a skin tap mechanism, termed Tap-in. The wristwatch would connect to a mobile phone via Bluetooth, and tapping-frequency patterns would enable the wearer to respond to callers with selected short messages.
In 2015, the Apple Watch was launched. It uses skin tap sensing to deliver notifications and alerts from the mobile phone of the watch wearer.
Types of mechanical touch sensing
Human sensing of mechanical loading in the skin is managed by Mechanoreceptors.
There are a number of types of mechanoreceptors but those present in
the finger pad are typically placed into two categories. Fast acting
(FA) and slow acting (SA). SA mechanoreceptors are sensitive to
relatively large stresses and at low frequencies while FA
mechanoreceptors are sensitive to smaller stresses at higher
frequencies. The result of this is that generally SA sensors can detect
textures with amplitudes greater than 200 micrometers and FA sensors can
detect textures with amplitudes less than 200 micrometers down to about
1 micrometer, though some research suggests that FA can only detect
textures smaller than the fingerprint wavelength.
FA mechanoreceptors achieve this high resolution of sensing by sensing
vibrations produced by friction and an interaction of the fingerprint
texture moving over fine surface texture.
Implementation
See the sub-sections under applications for examples.
Haptic feedback
Haptic
feedback (often shortened to just haptics) is controlled vibrations at
set frequencies and intervals to provide a sensation representative of
an in-game action; this includes 'bumps', 'knocks', and 'tap' of one's
hand or fingers.
The majority of electronics offering haptic feedback use vibrations, and most use a type of eccentric rotating mass
(ERM) actuator, consisting of an unbalanced weight attached to a motor
shaft. As the shaft rotates, the spinning of this irregular mass causes
the actuator and the attached device to shake. Piezoelectric actuators
are also employed to produce vibrations, and offer even more precise
motion than LRAs, with less noise and in a smaller platform, but require
higher voltages than do ERMs and LRAs.
Rumble is a form of haptics, rumble is just vibrating steadily at various frequencies.
Force feedback
Force feedback devices use motors to manipulate the movement of an item held by the user. A common use is in automobile driving video games and simulators, which turn the steering wheel to simulate forces experienced when cornering a real vehicle. Direct-drive wheels, introduced in 2013, are based on servomotors and are the most high-end, for strength and fidelity, type of force feedback racing wheels.
In 2007, Novint released the Falcon,
the first consumer 3D touch device with high resolution
three-dimensional force feedback. This allowed the haptic simulation of
objects, textures, recoil, momentum, and the physical presence of
objects in games.
Air vortex rings
Air vortex rings
are donut-shaped air pockets made up of concentrated gusts of air.
Focused air vortices can have the force to blow out a candle or disturb
papers from a few yards away. Both Microsoft Research (AirWave) and Disney Research (AIREAL) have used air vortices to deliver non-contact haptic feedback.
Ultrasound
Focused ultrasound
beams can be used to create a localized sense of pressure on a finger
without touching any physical object. The focal point that creates the
sensation of pressure is generated by individually controlling the phase
and intensity of each transducer in an array of ultrasound transducers.
These beams can also be used to deliver sensations of vibration, and to give users the ability to feel virtual 3D objects.
The first commercially available ultrasound device was the Stratos
Explore by Ultrahaptics that consisted of 256-transducer array board and
a Leap motion controller for hand tracking
Another form of tactile feed back results from active touch when a
human scans (runs their finger over a surface) to gain information
about a surfaces texture. A significant amount of information about a
surfaces texture on the micro meter scale can be gathered through this
action as vibrations resulting from friction and texture activate mechanoreceptors
in the human skin. Towards this goal plates can be made to vibrate at
an ultrasonic frequency which reduces the friction between the plate and
skin.
Electrical stimulation
Electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) can be used to create haptic sensations in the skin or muscles. Most notable examples include haptic suits Tesla suit, Owo haptic vest and wearable armbands Valkyrie EIR.
In addition to improving immersion, e.g. by simulating bullet hits,
these technologies are sought to create sensations similar to weight and
resistance, and can promote muscle training.
Applications
Automotive
With
the introduction of large touchscreen control panels in vehicle
dashboards, haptic feedback technology is used to provide confirmation
of touch commands without needing the driver to take their eyes off the
road.
Additional contact surfaces, for example the steering wheel or seat,
can also provide haptic information to the driver, for example, a
warning vibration pattern when close to other vehicles.
Art
Haptic technologies have been explored in virtual arts, such as sound synthesis or graphic design, that make some loose vision and animation. Haptic technology was used to enhance existing art pieces in the Tate Sensorium exhibit in 2015. In music creation, Swedish synthesizer manufacturer Teenage Engineering introduced a haptic subwoofer module for their OP-Z synthesizer allowing musicians to feel the bass frequencies directly on their instrument.
Aviation
Force-feedback can be used to increase adherence to a safe flight envelope
and thus reduce the risk of pilots entering dangerous states of flights
outside the operational borders while maintaining the pilots' final
authority and increasing their situation awareness.
Medicine and dentistry
Haptic interfaces for medical simulation are being developed for training in minimally invasive procedures such as laparoscopy and interventional radiology, and for training dental students. A Virtual Haptic Back (VHB) was successfully integrated in the curriculum at the Ohio UniversityCollege of Osteopathic Medicine. Haptic technology has enabled the development of telepresence surgery, allowing expert surgeons to operate on patients from a distance. As the surgeon makes an incision, they feel tactile and resistance feedback as if working directly on the patient.
Haptic technology can also provide sensory feedback to ameliorate age-related impairments in balance control and prevent falls in the elderly and balance-impaired. Haptic Cow and Horse are used in veterinary training.
Mobile devices
Vibramotor of LG Optimus L7 II
Tactile haptic feedback is common in cellular devices. In most cases, this takes the form of vibration response to touch. Alpine Electronics uses a haptic feedback technology named PulseTouch on many of their touch-screen car navigation and stereo units. The Nexus One features haptic feedback, according to their specifications. Samsung first launched a phone with haptics in 2007.
Surface haptics refers to the production of variable forces on a
user's finger as it interacts with a surface such as a touchscreen.
Notable introductions include:
Tanvas uses an electrostatic technology
to control the in-plane forces experienced by a fingertip, as a
programmable function of the finger's motion. The TPaD Tablet Project
uses an ultrasonic technology to modulate the apparent slipperiness of a glass touchscreen.
In 2013, Apple Inc.
was awarded the patent for a haptic feedback system that is suitable
for multitouch surfaces. Apple's U.S. Patent for a "Method and apparatus
for localization of haptic feedback" describes a system where at least
two actuators are positioned beneath a multitouch input device,
providing vibratory feedback when a user makes contact with the unit.
Specifically, the patent provides for one actuator to induce a feedback
vibration, while at least one other actuator uses its vibrations to
localize the haptic experience by preventing the first set of vibrations
from propagating to other areas of the device. The patent gives the
example of a "virtual keyboard," however, it is also noted that the
invention can be applied to any multitouch interface. Apple's iPhones (and MacBooks)
featuring the "Taptic Engine", accomplish their vibrations with a
linear resonant actuator (LRA), which moves a mass in a reciprocal
manner by means of a magnetic voice coil, similar to how AC electrical signals are translated into motion in the cone of a loudspeaker. LRAs are capable of quicker response times than ERMs, and thus can transmit more accurate haptic imagery.
Neurorehabilitation
For
individuals with upper limb motor dysfunction, robotic devices
utilizing haptic feedback could be used for neurorehabilitation. Robotic
devices, such as end-effectors, and both grounded and ungrounded
exoskeletons have been designed to assist in restoring control over
several muscle groups. Haptic feedback applied by these robotic devices
helps in the recovery of sensory function due to its more immersive
nature.
Puzzles
Haptic puzzles
have been devised in order to investigate goal-oriented haptic
exploration, search, learning and memory in complex 3D environments. The
goal is to both enable multi-fingered robots with a sense of touch, and
gain more insights into human meta-learning.
Personal computers
In 2015, Apple Inc.'s MacBook and MacBook Pro
started incorporating a "Tactile Touchpad" design with button
functionality and haptic feedback incorporated into the tracking
surface.
Robotics
Haptic feedback is essential to perform complex tasks via telepresence. The Shadow Hand,
an advanced robotic hand, has a total of 129 touch sensors embedded in
every joint and finger pad that relay information to the operator. This
allows tasks such as typing to be performed from a distance. An early prototype can be seen in NASA's collection of humanoid robots, or robonauts.
In December 2015 David Eagleman demonstrated a wearable vest that
"translates" speech and other audio signals into series of vibrations, this allowed hear-impaired people to "feel" sounds on their body, it has since been made commercially as a wristband.
Space
The use of haptic technologies may be useful in space exploration, including visits to the planet Mars, according to news reports.
A tactile electronic display is a display device
that delivers text and graphical information using the sense of touch.
Devices of this kind have been developed to assist blind or deaf users
by providing an alternative to visual or auditory sensation.
Teleoperators and simulators
Teleoperators are remote controlled robotic tools. When the operator is given feedback on the forces involved, this is called haptic teleoperation. The first electrically actuated teleoperators were built in the 1950s at the Argonne National Laboratory by Raymond Goertz to remotely handle radioactive substances.
Since then, the use of force feedback has become more widespread in
other kinds of teleoperators, such as remote-controlled underwater
exploration devices.
Devices such as medical simulators and flight simulators
ideally provide the force feedback that would be felt in real life.
Simulated forces are generated using haptic operator controls, allowing
data representing touch sensations to be saved or played back.
Teledildonics
Haptic feedback is used within teledildonics,
or "sex-technology", in order to remotely connect sex toys and allow
users to engage in virtual sex or allow a remote server to control their
sex toy. The term was first coined by Ted Nelson in 1975, when
discussing the future of love, intimacy and technology.
In recent years, teledildonics and sex-technology have expanded to
include toys with a two-way connection that allow virtual sex through
the communication of vibrations, pressures and sensations. Many "smart"
vibrators allow for a one-way connection either between the user, or a
remote partner, to allow control of the toy.
Video games
Rumble packs for controllers, such as this Dreamcast Jump Pack, provide haptic feedback through users' hands.
Haptic feedback is commonly used in arcade games, especially racing video games. In 1976, Sega's motorbike game Moto-Cross, also known as Fonz, was the first game to use haptic feedback, causing the handlebars to vibrate during a collision with another vehicle. Tatsumi's TX-1 introduced force feedback to car driving games in 1983. The game Earthshaker! added haptic feedback to a pinball machine in 1989.
Simple haptic devices are common in the form of game controllers, joysticks, and steering wheels. Early implementations were provided through optional components, such as the Nintendo 64 controller's Rumble Pak in 1997. In the same year, the Microsoft SideWinder Force Feedback Pro with built-in feedback was released by Immersion Corporation.
Many console controllers and joysticks feature built-in feedback
devices, which are motors with unbalanced weights that spin, causing it
to vibrate, including Sony's DualShock technology and Microsoft's Impulse Trigger
technology. Some automobile steering wheel controllers, for example,
are programmed to provide a "feel" of the road. As the user makes a turn
or accelerates, the steering wheel responds by resisting turns or
slipping out of control.
2014: A new type of haptic cushion that responds to multimedia inputs by LG Electronics.
2015: Steam Machines (console-like PCs) by Valve
include a new Steam Controller that uses weighted electromagnets
capable of delivering a wide range of haptic feedback via the unit's
trackpads.
These controllers' feedback systems are user-configurable, delivering
precise feedback with haptic force actuators on both sides of the
controller.
2018: The Razer Nari Ultimate, gaming headphones using a pair of wide frequency haptic drivers, developed by Lofelt.
2020: The Sony PlayStation 5DualSense controllers supports vibrotactile haptic provided by voice coilactuators integrated in the palm grips, and force feedback for the Adaptive Triggers provided by two DC rotary motors.
The actuators in the hand grip are able to give varied and intuitive
feedback about in-game actions; for example, in a sandstorm, you can
feel the wind and sand, and the motors in the Adaptive Triggers support
experiences such as virtually drawing an arrow from a bow.
2021, SuperTuxKart 1.3 was released, it has support for force feedback. Force feedback is extremely uncommon for free software games.
Virtual reality
Haptics are gaining widespread acceptance as a key part of virtual reality systems, adding the sense of touch to previously visual-only interfaces.
Systems are being developed to use haptic interfaces for 3D modeling
and design, including systems that allow holograms to be both seen and
felt.Several companies are making full-body or torso haptic vests or haptic suits for use in immersive virtual reality to allow users to feel explosions and bullet impacts.
Chronostasis (from Greek χρόνος, chrónos, "time" and στάσις, stásis, "standing") is a type of temporal illusion
in which the first impression following the introduction of a new event
or task-demand to the brain can appear to be extended in time. For example, chronostasis temporarily occurs when fixating on a target stimulus, immediately following a saccade (i.e., quick eye movement).
This elicits an overestimation in the temporal duration for which that
target stimulus (i.e., postsaccadic stimulus) was perceived. This
effect can extend apparent durations by up to half a second and is
consistent with the idea that the visual system models events prior to
perception.
A common occurrence of this illusion is known as the stopped-clock illusion, where the second hand of an analog clock appears to stay still for longer than normal when looking at it for the first time.
This illusion can also occur in the auditory and tactile domain.
For instance, a study suggests that when someone listens to a ringing
tone through a telephone,
while repetitively switching the receiver from one ear to the other, it
causes the caller to overestimate the temporal duration between rings.
Mechanism of action
Overall, chronostasis occurs as a result of a disconnection in the communication between visual sensation and perception.
Sensation, information collected from our eyes, is usually directly
interpreted to create our perception. This perception is the collection
of information that we consciously interpret from visual information. However, quick eye movements known as saccades
disrupt this flow of information. Because research into the neurology
associated with visual processing is ongoing, there is renewed debate
regarding the exact timing of changes in perception that lead to
chronostasis.
However, below is a description of the general series of events that
lead to chronostasis, using the example of a student looking up from his
desk toward a clock in the classroom.
A timeline of the sensation and perception of chronostasis within the context of a student in a classroom
The eyes receive information from the environment regarding one particular focus. This sensory input is sent directly to the visual cortex to be processed. After visual processing, we consciously perceive this object of focus.
In the context of a student in a classroom, the student's eyes focus
on a paper on their desk. After his eyes collect light reflected off of
the paper and this information is processed in his visual cortex, the
student consciously perceives the paper in front of him.
Following either a conscious decision or an involuntary perception of a stimulus in the periphery of the visual field, the eyes intend to move to a second target of interest. For the student described above, this may occur as he decides that he wishes to check the clock at the front of the classroom.
The muscles of the eye contract and it begins to quickly move
towards the second object of interest through an action known as a
saccade.
As soon as this saccade begins, a signal is sent from the eye back to
the brain. This signal, known as an efferent cortical trigger or efference copy, communicates to the brain that a saccade is about to begin.
During saccades, the sensitivity of visual information collected by the
eyes is greatly reduced and, thus, any image collected during this
saccade is very blurry.
In order to prevent the visual cortex from processing blurred sensory
information, visual information collected by the eyes during a saccade
is suppressed through a process known as saccadic masking. This is also the same mechanism used to prevent the experience of motion blur.
Following the completion of the saccade, the eyes now focus on the
second object of interest. As soon as the saccade concludes, another
efferent cortical trigger is sent from the eyes back to the brain. This
signal communicates to the brain that the saccade has concluded.
Prompted by this signal, the visual cortex once again resumes processing
visual information.
For the student, his eyes have now reached the clock and his brain's
visual cortex begins to process information from his eyes. However,
this second efferent trigger also communicates to the brain that a
period of time has been missing from perception. To fill this gap in
perception, visual information is processed in a manner known as neural
antedating or backdating.
In this visual processing, the gap in perception is "filled in" with
information gathered after the saccade. For the student, the gap of
time that occurred during the saccade is substituted with the processed
image of the clock. Thus, immediately following the saccade, the second
hand of the clock appears to stop in place before moving.
In studying chronostasis and its underlying causes, there is
potential bias in the experimental setting. In many experiments,
participants are asked to perform some sort of task corresponding to
sensory stimuli. This could cause the participants to anticipate
stimuli, thus leading to bias. Also, many mechanisms involved in
chronostasis are complex and difficult to measure. It is difficult for
experimenters to observe the perceptive experiences of participants
without "being inside their mind."
Furthermore, experimenters normally do not have access to the neural
circuitry and neurotransmitters located inside the braincases of their
subjects.
Modulating factors
Because
of its complexity, there are various characteristics of stimuli and
physiological actions that can alter the way one experiences
chronostasis.
Saccadic amplitude
The
greater the amplitude (or duration) of a saccade, the more severe the
resulting overestimation. The further the student in the above
example's eyes must travel in order to reach the clock, the more
dramatic his perception of chronostasis. This connection supports the assertion that overestimation occurs in order to fill in the length of time omitted by saccadic masking.
This would mean that, if the saccade lasted for a longer period of
time, there would be more time that needed to be filled in with
overestimation.
Attention redirection
When
shifting focus from one object to a second object, the saccadic
movement of one's eyes is also accompanied by a conscious shift of attention.
In the context of the stopped clock illusion, not only do your eyes
move, but you also shift your attention to the clock. This led
researchers to question whether the movement of the eyes or simply the
shift of the observer's attention towards the second stimulus initiated
saccadic masking. Experiments in which subjects diverted only their
attention without moving their eyes revealed that the redirection of
attention alone was not enough to initiate chronostasis.
This suggests that attention is not the time marker used when
perception is filled back in. Rather, the physical movement of the eyes
themselves serves as this critical marker. However, this relationship
between attention and perception in the context of chronostasis is often
difficult to measure and may be biased in a laboratory setting.
Because subjects may be biased as they are instructed to perform actions
or to redirect their attention, the concept of attention serving as a
critical time marker for chronostasis may not be entirely dismissed.
Spatial continuity
Following
investigation, one may wonder if chronostasis still occurs if the
saccadic target is moving. In other words, would you still experience
chronostasis if the clock you looked at were moving? Through
experimentation, researchers found that the occurrence of chronostasis
in the presence of a moving stimulus was dependent on the awareness of
the subject. If the subject were aware that the saccadic target was
moving, they would not experience chronostasis. Conversely, if the
subject were not aware of the saccadic target's movement, they did
experience chronostasis. This is likely because antedating does not
occur in the case of a consciously moving target. If, after the
saccade, the eye correctly falls on the target, the brain assumes this
target has been at this location throughout the saccade. If the target
changes position during the saccade, the interruption of spatial
continuity makes the target appear novel.
Stimulus properties
Properties
of stimuli themselves have shown to have significant effects on the
occurrence of chronostasis. In particular, the frequency and pattern of
stimuli affect the observer's perception of chronostasis. In regard to
frequency, the occurrence of many, similar events can exaggerate
duration overestimation and makes the effects of chronostasis more
severe. In regard to repetition, repetitive stimuli appear to be of
shorter subjective duration than novel stimuli.
This is due to neural suppression within the cortex. Investigation
using various imaging techniques has shown that repetitive firing of the
same cortical neurons cause them to be suppressed over time. This occurs as a form of neural adaptation.
Sensory domain
The occurrence of chronostasis extends beyond the visual domain into the auditory and tactile domains.
In the auditory domain, chronostasis and duration overestimation
occur when observing auditory stimuli. One common example is a frequent
occurrence when making telephone calls. If, while listening to the
phone's ring tone, research subjects move the phone from one ear to the
other, the length of time between rings appears longer.
In the tactile domain, chronostasis has persisted in research subjects
as they reach for and grasp objects. After grasping a new object,
subjects overestimate the time in which their hand has been in contact
with this object.
In other experiments, subjects turning a light on with a button were
conditioned to experience the light before the button press. This
suggests that, much in the same way subjects overestimate the duration
of the second hand as they watch it, they may also overestimate the
duration of auditory and tactile stimuli. This has led researchers to
investigate the possibility that a common timing mechanism or temporal
duration scheme is used for temporal perception of stimuli across a variety of sensory domains.
Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. It is celebrated across the United States on the second Monday in October, and is an official city and state holiday in various localities. It began as a counter-celebration held on the same day as the U.S. federal holiday of Columbus Day, which honors Italian explorer Christopher Columbus.
Many people do not observe Columbus Day at all, citing the lasting harm
Indigenous tribes suffered because of Columbus's contributions to the European colonization of the Americas.
Indigenous Peoples Day was instituted in Berkeley, California, in 1992, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Columbus in the Americas on October 12, 1492. Two years later, Santa Cruz, California, instituted the holiday. Starting in 2014, many other cities and states adopted the holiday. In 2021, Joe Biden
formally commemorated the holiday with a presidential proclamation,
becoming the first U.S. president to do so, and presidential
proclamations have also been issued in 2022 and 2023.
History
In 1977, the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, sponsored by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, began to discuss replacing Columbus Day in the Americas with a celebration to be known as Indigenous Peoples Day. Similarly, Native American groups staged a sort of protest in Boston instead of Thanksgiving, which has been celebrated there to mark collaboration between Massachusetts
colonists and Native Americans in the first years. In July 1990, at the
First Continental Conference on 500 Years of Indian Resistance in Quito,
Ecuador, representatives of indigenous people throughout the Americas
agreed that they would mark 1992, the 500th anniversary of the first of
the voyages of Christopher Columbus, as a year to promote "continental unity" and "liberation".
After the conference, attendees from Northern California organized protests against the "Quincentennial Jubilee" that had been organized by the United States Congress for the San Francisco Bay Area on Columbus Day in 1992. It was to include replicas of Columbus's ships sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge
and reenacting their "discovery" of America. The delegates formed the
Bay Area Indian Alliance and in turn, the "Resistance 500" task force.
It promoted the idea that Columbus's "discovery" of inhabited lands and
the subsequent European colonization of them had resulted in the genocide of thousands of indigenous peoples because of the decisions which were made by colonial and national governments.
In 1992, the group convinced the city council of Berkeley,
California, to declare October 12 as a "Day of Solidarity with
Indigenous People" and 1992 as the "Year of Indigenous People". The city
implemented related programs in schools, libraries, and museums. The
city symbolically renamed Columbus Day as "Indigenous Peoples Day"
beginning in 1992 to protest the historical conquest of North America by Europeans, and to call attention to the losses suffered by the Native American peoples and their cultures through diseases, warfare, massacres, and forced assimilation. Get Lost (Again) Columbus, an opera by a Native American composer, White Cloud Wolfhawk, was produced that day. Berkeley has celebrated Indigenous Peoples Day ever since. Beginning in 1993, Berkeley has also held an annual pow wow and festival on Indigenous Peoples Day.
In the years following Berkeley's action, other local governments
and institutions have either renamed or canceled Columbus Day, either
to celebrate Native American history and cultures, to avoid celebrating
Columbus and the European colonization of the Americas, or due to raised
controversy over the legacy of Columbus. Several other California cities, including Richmond, Santa Cruz, and Sebastopol,
now celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day and encourage people to donate to a
neighboring tribe and recognize the trauma and pain indigenous peoples
have been subjected to by colonizers.
At least twelve states do not celebrate Columbus Day (Alaska,
Hawaii, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina,
Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin), as well as Washington, DC; South Dakota officially celebrates Native American Day instead. Various tribal governments in Oklahoma designate the day as "Native American Day", or have renamed the day after their own tribes.
In 2013, the California state legislature considered a bill, AB55, to
formally replace Columbus Day with Native American Day but did not pass
it. While the California governor has recognized Indigenous Peoples Day, the holiday was eliminated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 2008-12 California budget crisis. On August 30, 2017, following similar affirmative votes in Oberlin, Ohio, followed later by Bangor, Maine, in the earlier weeks of the same month, the Los Angeles City Council voted in favor of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
On October 10, 2019, just a few days before Columbus Day would be
celebrated in Washington, D.C., the D.C. Council voted to temporarily
replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day. This bill was led by Councilmember David Grosso (I-At Large) and must undergo congressional approval to become permanent. Washington D.C., as of May 2023, has yet to have given the permanent legislation to this renaming.
Other celebrations
Numerous efforts in North America have honored Native American people as part of Columbus Day, or by designating two holidays for the same date.
Especially since Native American activism has increased since the 1960s
and 1970s, a variety of protests have been staged against celebrating
Columbus Day. These have included mock trials of Christopher Columbus in St. Paul, Minnesota, and protests and disruptions of Columbus Day parades in the United States.
Indigenous peoples in other nations have also lobbied to have
holidays established to recognize their contributions and history. In South America, for instance, Brazil celebrates "National Indigenous Peoples Day" on April 19.
In Asia, Taiwan designated August 1 as Indigenous Peoples Day in 2016 under the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen, who announced that the government is committed to promoting the rights of Taiwan's indigenous peoples and enhancing public awareness of their culture and history. In the Philippines, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, as well as various local indigenous towns, designated October 29, 1987, as Indigenous Peoples Day.
Some states celebrate a separate but similar Native American Day;
however, this is observed not on Columbus Day but in September. Those
who observe include the states of California and Tennessee. However, as
of 2021, the State of California does not actually observe this holiday
by closing its government offices, giving its employees paid time off,
or encouraging private businesses to do the same in observance. In Washington state it is celebrated the Friday immediately following the fourth Thursday in November.
International Day of the World's Indigenous People
In 2003, the United Nations declared an International Day of the World's Indigenous People, establishing it on August 9. This international holiday has been celebrated also in various nations.
Indigenous Peoples Day observers
States in the U.S. that celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day or Native American Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day
The following U.S. states celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day instead of or in addition to Columbus Day.
Indigenous Peoples' Day has been criticized by some American conservative communities and public figures. In 2020, President Donald Trump
criticized Indigenous Peoples' Day at a campaign rally in Michigan,
calling it an example of how "the radical left is eradicating our
history". In 2022, the Washington Examiner published a column calling for the holiday's end, saying that indigenous peoples attacked and conquered each other's land.
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples,
although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification,
cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special
relationship with their traditional territory, and an experience of
subjugation and discrimination under a dominant cultural model.
Estimates of the population of Indigenous peoples range from 250 million to 600 million.
There are some 5,000 distinct Indigenous peoples spread across every
inhabited climate zone and continent of the world except Antarctica.
Most Indigenous peoples are in a minority in the state or traditional
territory they inhabit and have experienced domination by other groups,
especially non-Indigenous peoples.Although many Indigenous peoples have experienced colonization by settlers from European nations, Indigenous identity is not determined by Western colonization.
The rights of Indigenous peoples are outlined in national
legislation, treaties and international law. The 1989 International
Labour Organization (ILO) Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples
protects Indigenous peoples from discrimination and specifies their
rights to development, customary laws, lands, territories and resources,
employment, education and health. In 2007, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
including their rights to self-determination and to protect their
cultures, identities, languages, ceremonies, and access to employment,
health, education and natural resources.
Indigenous peoples continue to face threats to their sovereignty,
economic well-being, languages, cultural heritage, and access to the
resources on which their cultures depend.
In the 21st century, Indigenous groups and advocates for Indigenous
peoples have highlighted numerous apparent violations of the rights of
Indigenous peoples.
Etymology
Indigenous is derived from the Latin word indigena, meaning "sprung from the land, native". The Latin indigena is based on the Old Latinindu "in, within" + gignere "to beget, produce". Indu is an extended form of the Proto-Indo-Europeanen or "in".
Definitions
Colorized photograph of an Amis couple in traditional clothing. Taken in pre-World War II Japanese-ruled Taiwan.
There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples in the United Nations or international law.
Various national and international organizations, non-government
organizations, governments, Indigenous groups and scholars have
developed definitions or have declined to provide a definition.
Historical
As a reference to a group of people, the term "indigenous" was first
used by Europeans to differentiate the Indigenous peoples of the
Americas from enslaved Africans. The first known use was by Sir Thomas Browne in 1646, who wrote "and although in many parts thereof there be at present swarms of Negroes serving under the Spaniard, yet were they all transported from Africa, since the discovery of Columbus; and are not indigenous or proper natives of America."
In the 1970s, the term was used as a way of linking the
experiences, issues, and struggles of groups of colonized people across
international borders. At this time 'indigenous people(s)' also began to
be used to describe a legal category in Indigenous law created in
international and national legislation. The use of the plural 'peoples'
recognizes the cultural differences between various Indigenous peoples.
In the 21st century, the concept of Indigenous peoples is understood
in a wider context than only the colonial experience. The focus has been
on self-identification as indigenous peoples, cultural difference from
other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional
territory, and an experience of subjugation and discrimination under a
dominant cultural model.
United Nations
No definition of Indigenous peoples has been adopted by a United
Nations agency. The Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous
Issues states, "in the case of the concept of 'indigenous peoples', the
prevailing view today is that no formal universal definition of the term
is necessary, given that a single definition will inevitably be either
over- or under-inclusive, making sense in some societies but not in
others."
However, a number of UN agencies have provided statements of
coverage for particular international agreements concerning Indigenous
peoples or "working definitions" for particular reports.
The International Labour Organization's (ILO) Indigenous and Tribal
Peoples Convention, 1989 (ILO Convention No. 169), states that the
convention covers:
peoples in independent countries
who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the
populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to
which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonisation or
the establishment of present state boundaries and who, irrespective of
their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic,
cultural and political institutions.
The
convention also covers "tribal peoples" who are distinguished from
Indigenous peoples and described as "tribal peoples in independent
countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish
them from other sections of the national community and whose status is
regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by
special laws or regulations."
The convention states that self-identification as indigenous or
tribal is a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which
the convention applies.
The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples does not define
Indigenous peoples but affirms their right to self-determination
including determining their own identity.
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
does not provide a definition of Indigenous peoples stating that, "such
a definition is not necessary for purposes of protecting their human
rights." In determining coverage of Indigenous peoples, the commission
uses the criteria developed in documents such as ILO Convention No. 169
and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
The commission states that self-identification as indigenous is a
fundamental criterion.
World Bank
The World Bank
states, "Indigenous Peoples are distinct social and cultural groups
that share collective ancestral ties to the lands and natural resources
where they live, occupy or from which they have been displaced."
Amnesty International
Amnesty International does not provide a definition of Indigenous
peoples but states that they can be identified according to certain
characteristics:
Self identification as Indigenous peoples
A historical link with those who inhabited a country or region at
the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived
A strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources
Distinct social, economic or political systems
A distinct language, culture and beliefs
Marginalized and discriminated against by the state
They maintain and develop their ancestral environments and systems as distinct peoples
Scholars
Academics and other scholars have developed various definitions of
Indigenous peoples. In 1986-87, José Martínez Cobo, developed the
following "working definition" :
Indigenous
communities, peoples, and nations are those that, having a historical
continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed
on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of
the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them.
They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined
to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral
territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued
existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns,
social institutions and legal systems.
Martínez
Cobo states that the following factors are relevant to historical
continuity: occupation of ancestral lands, or at least of part of them;
common ancestry with the original occupants of these lands; cultural
factors such as religion, tribalism, dress, etc.; language; residence in
certain parts of the country, or in certain regions of the world; and
other relevant factors.
Guatemalan girls in their traditional clothing from the town of Santa Catarina Palopó on Lake Atitlán
In 2004, James Anaya,
defined Indigenous peoples as "living descendants of pre-invasion
inhabitants of lands now dominated by others. They are culturally
distinct groups that find themselves engulfed by other settler societies
born of forces of empire and conquest".
In 2012, Tuck and Yang
propose a criterion based on accounts of origin: "Indigenous peoples
are those who have creation stories, not colonization stories, about how
we/they came to be in a particular place - indeed how we/they came to
be a place. Our/their relationships to land comprise our/their
epistemologies, ontologies, and cosmologies".
Other views
It is sometimes argued that all Africans are Indigenous to
Africa, all Asians are Indigenous to parts of Asia, or that there can be
no Indigenous peoples in countries which did not experience large-scale
Western settler colonialism.
Many countries have avoided the term Indigenous peoples or have denied
that Indigenous peoples exist in their territory, and have classified
minorities who identify as Indigenous in other ways, such as 'hill
tribes' in Thailand, 'scheduled tribes' in India, 'national minorities'
in China, 'cultural minorities' in the Philippines, 'isolated and alien
peoples' in Indonesia, and various other terms.
History
Classical antiquity
Greek sources of the Classical period acknowledge Indigenous people whom they referred to as "Pelasgians". Ancient writers saw these people either as the ancestors of the Greeks, or as an earlier group of people who inhabited Greece before the Greeks. The disposition and precise identity of this former group is elusive, and sources such as Homer, Hesiod and Herodotus give varying, partially mythological accounts. Dionysius of Halicarnassus in his book, Roman Antiquities,
gives a synoptic interpretation of the Pelasgians based on the sources
available to him then, concluding that Pelasgians were Greek. Greco-Roman
society flourished between 330 BCE and 640 CE and undertook successive
campaigns of conquest that subsumed more than half of the known world of
the time. But because preexisting populations within other parts of
Europe at the time of classical antiquity
had more in common – culturally speaking – with the Greco-Roman world,
the intricacies involved in expansion across the European frontier were
not so contentious relative to Indigenous issues.
Africa
In European late antiquity, many Berbers, Copts and Nubians
of north Africa converted to various forms of Christianity under Roman
rule, although elements of traditional religious beliefs were retained.
Following the Arab invasions of North Africa in the 7th century, many
Berbers were enslaved or recruited into the army. The majority of
Berbers, however, remained nomadic pastoralists who also engaged in
trade as far as sub-Saharan Africa.
Coptic Egyptians remained in possession of their lands and many
preserved their language and Christian religion. By the 10th century,
however, the majority of the population of north Africa spoke Arabic and
practiced Islam.
From 1402, the Guanche of the Canary Islands resisted Spanish attempts at colonization. The islands finally came under Spanish control in 1496. Mohamed Adhikari has called the conquest of the islands a genocide.
Early 15th-century Portuguese exploration of the west coast of
Africa was motivated by a quest for gold and crusading against Islam. Portugal's first attempt at colonization in what is now Senegal ended in failure. In the 1470s, the Portuguese established a fortified trading post on the West coast of Africa, south of the Akan
goldfields. The Portuguese engaged in extensive trade of goods for gold
and, in later years, slaves for their sugar plantations in the islands
off West Africa and in the New World. In 1488, Portuguese ships rounded the Cape of Good Hope
and by the 17th century, Portugal had established seaborn trading
routes and fortified coastal trading posts from West Africa to India and
Southern China, and a settler colony in Brazil.
In 1532, the first African slaves were transported directly to
the Americas. The trade in slaves expanded sharply in the 17th century,
with the involvement of the French, Dutch and English, before declining
in the 19th century. At least 12 million slaves were transported from
Africa.
The slave trade increased inter-tribal warfare and stunted population
growth and economic development in the west African interior.
Indigenous encounters with Europeans increased during the age of discovery. The Europeans were motivated by a range of factors including trade, the exploitation of natural resources, spreading Christianity, and establishing strategic military bases, colonies and settlements.
From 1492, the Arawak peoples of the Caribbean islands encountered Spanish colonizers initially led by Christopher Columbus.
The Spanish enslaved some of the native population and forced others to
work on farms and gold mines in a system of labor called ecomienda.
Spanish settlements spread from Hispaniola to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas
and Cuba, leading to a severe decline in the Indigenous populations from
disease, malnutrition, settler violence and cultural disruption.
In the 1520s, the peoples of Mesoamerica
encountered the Spanish who entered their lands in search of gold and
other resources. Some indigenous peoples chose to ally with the Spanish
to end Aztec rule. The Spanish incursions led to the conquest of the Aztec Empire and its fall. The Cempoalans, Tlaxcalans
and other allies of the Spanish were given some autonomy, but the
Spanish were de facto rulers of Mexico. Smallpox devastated the
indigenous population and aided the Spanish conquest.
Map with the main travels of the Age of Discovery (which began in the 15th century)
In 1530, the Spanish sailed south from Panama to the lands of the Inca Empire
in the west of South America. The Inca, weakened by a smallpox epidemic
and civil war, were defeated by the Spanish at Cajamarca in 1532, and
the emperor Atahualpa was captured and executed. The Spanish appointed a
puppet emperor and captured the Inca capital of Cuzco with the support
of a number of native peoples. The Spanish established a new capital in
1535 and defeated an Inca rebellion in 1537, thus consolidating the
conquest of Peru.
In the 1560s, the Spanish established colonies in Florida and in 1598 founded a colony in New Mexico. However, the heartland of the Spanish colonies remained New Spain (including Mexico and most of Central America) and Peru (including most of South America).
In the 17th century, French, English and Dutch trading posts multiplied
in northern America to exploit whaling, fishing and fur trading. French
settlements progressed up the St Lawrence river to the Great Lakes and
down the Mississippi to Louisiana. English and Dutch settlements multiplied down the Atlantic coast from modern Massachusetts to Georgia.
Native peoples formed alliances with the Europeans in order to promote
trade, preserve their autonomy, and gain allies in conflicts with other
native peoples.
However, horses and new weapons made inter-tribal conflicts more deadly
and the native population was devastated by introduced diseases. Native
peoples also experienced losses from violent conflict with the
colonists and the progressive dispossession of their traditional lands.
In
1492, the population of the Americas as a whole was about 50 to 100
million. By 1700, introduced diseases had reduced the native population
by 90%.
European migration and transfer of slaves from Africa reduced the
native population to a minority. By 1800 the population of North America
comprised about 5 million Europeans and their descendants, one million
Africans and 600,000 indigenous Americans.
Native populations also encountered new animals and plants
introduced by Europeans. These included pigs, horses, mules, sheep and
cattle; wheat, barley, rye, oats, grasses and grapevines. These exotic
animals and plants radically transformed the local environment and
disrupted traditional agriculture and hunting practices.
Oceania
The indigenous populations of the Pacific had increasing contact with
Europeans in the 18th century as British, French and Spanish
expeditions explored the region. The natives of Tahiti had encounters
with the expeditions of Wallis (1766), Bougainville (1768), Cook (1769) and many others before being formally colonized by the French in 1880. The indigenous inhabitants of the Hawaiian Islands first encountered Europeans in 1778 when Cook explored the region.
Following increasing contact with European missionaries, traders and
scientific expeditions, the indigenous population fell before their
lands were annexed by the United States in 1893.
The Māori
of New Zealand also had sporadic encounters with Europeans in the 17th
and 18th centuries. Following encounters with Cook's exploration parties
in 1769-70, New Zealand was visited by numerous European and North
American whaling, sealing, and trading ships.
From the early 19th century, Christian missionaries began to settle New
Zealand, eventually converting most of the Māori population.
The Māori population declined to around 40% of its pre-contact level
during the 19th century; introduced diseases were the major factor. New Zealand became a British Crown colony in 1841.
The Aboriginal inhabitants
of Australia, after brief encounters with European explorers in the
17th and 18th centuries, had extensive contact with Europeans when the
continent was progressively colonized by the British from 1788. During
colonization, the Aboriginal people experienced depopulation from
disease and settler violence, dispossession of their land, and severe
disruption of their traditional cultures. By 1850, indigenous peoples
were a minority in Australia.
From the 15th to the 19th centuries, European powers used a number of
rationales for the colonization of newly-encountered lands populated by
indigenous peoples. These included a duty to spread the Gospel to non-Christians, to bring civilization to barbarian peoples, a natural law
right to explore and trade freely with other peoples, and a right to
settle and cultivate uninhabited or uncultivated land which they
considered terra nullius ("no one's land").
Robert J. Miller, Jacinta Ruru, Larissa Behrendt and Tracey
Lindberg argue that European powers rationalized their colonization of
the New World by the discovery doctrine,
which they trace back to papal decrees authorizing Spain and Portugal
to conquer newly discovered non-Christian lands and convert their
populations to Christianity.
Kent McNeil, however, states, "While Spain and Portugal favoured
discovery and papal grants because it was generally in their interests
to do so, France and Britain relied more on symbolic acts, colonial
charters, and occupation."
Benton and Strauman argue that European powers often adopted multiple,
sometimes contradictory, legal rationales for their acquisition of
territory as a deliberate strategy in defending their claims against
European rivals.
Although the establishment of colonies throughout the world by various
European powers aimed to expand those powers' wealth and influence,
settler populations in some localities became anxious to assert their
own autonomy. For example, settler independence movements in thirteen of
the British American colonies were successful by 1783, following the American Revolutionary War. This resulted in the establishment of the United States of America as an entity separate from the British Empire.
The United States continued and expanded European colonial doctrine
through adopting a version of the discovery doctrine as law in 1823 with
the US Supreme Court case Johnson v. McIntosh. Statements at the Johnson court case illuminated the United States' support for the principles of the discovery doctrine:
The
United States ... [and] its civilized inhabitants now hold this
country. They hold, and assert in themselves, the title by which it was
acquired. They maintain, as all others have maintained, that discovery
gave an exclusive right to extinguish the Indian title of occupancy,
either by purchase or by conquest; and gave also a right to such a
degree of sovereignty, as the circumstances of the people would allow
them to exercise. ... [This loss of native property and sovereignty
rights was justified, the Court said, by] the character and religion of
its inhabitants ... the superior genius of Europe ... [and] ample
compensation to the [Indians] by bestowing on them civilization and
Christianity, in exchange for unlimited independence.
Estimates of the population of Indigenous peoples range from 250 million to 600 million.
The United Nations estimates that there are over 370 million Indigenous
people living in over 90 countries worldwide. This would equate to just
fewer than 6% of the total world population. This includes at least
5,000 distinct peoples.
As there is no universally accepted definition of Indigenous
Peoples, their classification as such varies between countries and
organizations.
In the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, Indigenous status is often
applied unproblematically to groups descended from the peoples who lived
there prior to European settlement. However, In Asia
and Africa, Indigenous status has sometimes been rejected by certain
peoples, denied by governments or applied to peoples who may not be
considered "Indigenous" in other contexts.
The concept of indigenous peoples is rarely used in Europe, where very
few indigenous groups are recognized, with the exception of groups such
as the Sámi.
Indigenous societies range from those who have been significantly
exposed to the colonizing or expansionary activities of other societies
(such as the Maya peoples
of Mexico and Central America) through to those who as yet remain in
comparative isolation from any external influence (such as the Sentinelese and Jarawa of the Andaman Islands).
Contemporary distinct Indigenous groups survive in populations
ranging from only a few dozen to hundreds of thousands and more. Many
Indigenous populations have undergone a dramatic decline and even
extinction, and remain threatened in many parts of the world. Some have
also been assimilated by other populations or have undergone many other
changes. In other cases, Indigenous populations are undergoing a
recovery or expansion in numbers.
Certain Indigenous societies survive even though they may no
longer inhabit their "traditional" lands, owing to migration,
relocation, forced resettlement or having been supplanted by other
cultural groups. In many other respects, the transformation of culture
of Indigenous groups is ongoing, and includes permanent loss of
language, loss of lands, encroachment on traditional territories, and
disruption in traditional ways of life due to contamination and
pollution of waters and lands.
Environmental and economic benefits of the Indigenous stewardship of land
A WRI report mentions that "tenure-secure" Indigenous lands generates
billions and sometimes trillions of dollars' worth of benefits in the
form of carbon sequestration, reduced pollution, clean water and more. It says that tenure-secure Indigenous lands have low deforestation rates,
they help to reduce GHG emissions, control erosion and flooding by
anchoring soil, and provide a suite of other local, regional and global ecosystem services.
However, many of these communities find themselves on the front lines of
the deforestation crisis, and their lives and livelihoods threatened.
Indigenous peoples and the environment
Misconceptions about the historical relationship between Indigenous populations and their landbase has informed some Westerners
view of California's "wild Eden", which may influence policy decisions
about the "wilderness". Some academics assumed that the only
pre-Colonial human interactions with nature were as "hunter-gatherers".
Others say that the relationship was one of "calculated tempered use of
nature as active agents of environmental change and stewardship". They
argue that a view of "wilderness" as uninhabited nature has resulted in
removal of Indigenous inhabitants to preserve "the wild", and that
depriving the land of traditional Indigenous practices such as
controlled burns, harvesting, and seed scattering has yielded dense
understory shrubbery or tickets of young trees which are inhospitable to
life. Recent studies indicate that Indigenous peoples used land
sustainably, without causing substantial losses of biodiversity, for
thousands of years.
A goal is to ascertain an unbiased view of Indigenous practices of resource management. Historical literature, archaeological findings, ecological field
studies, and Native Peoples' cultures show indications that Indigenous
land management practices were largely successful in promoting habitat
heterogeneity, increasing biodiversity, and maintaining certain vegetation types, sustaining human lives while conserving natural resources.
Recently, it has come to light that the deforestation rate of Indonesian rainforests has been far greater than estimated. Such a rate could not have been the product of globalization
as understood before; rather, it seemed that ordinary local people
dependent on these forests for their livelihoods are in fact "joining
distant corporations in creating uninhabitable landscapes."
In eastern Penan,
three categories of misrepresentation are noticeable: The Molong
concept is purely a stewardship notion of resource management.
Communities or individuals take ownership of specific trees, maintaining
and harvesting from them sustainably over a long period of time. Some
feel this practice has been romanticized in environmentalist writings.
Landscape features and particularly their names in local languages
provided geographical and historical information for Penan people;
whereas in environmentalist accounts, it has turned into a spiritual
practice where trees and rivers represent forest spirits that are sacred
to the Penan people. A typical stereotype of some environmentalists'
approach to ecological ethnography
is to present Indigenous "knowledge" of nature as "valuable" to the
outside world because of its hidden medicinal benefits. In reality,
eastern Penan populations do not identify a medicinal stream of
"knowledge". These misrepresentations in the "narrative" of Indigeneity
and "value" of Indigenous knowledge might have been helpful for Penan's
people in their struggle to protect their environment, but it might also
have disastrous consequences. What happens if another case did not fit
in this romantic narrative, or another Indigenous knowledge did not seem
beneficial to the outside world. These people were being uprooted in
the first place because their communities did not fit well with the
state's system of values.
Indigenous populations are distributed in regions throughout the
globe. The numbers, condition and experience of Indigenous groups may
vary widely within a given region. A comprehensive survey is further
complicated by sometimes contentious membership and identification.
In the postcolonial
period, the concept of specific Indigenous peoples within the African
continent has gained wider acceptance, although not without controversy.
The highly diverse and numerous ethnic groups that comprise most
modern, independent African states contain within them various peoples
whose situation, cultures and pastoralist or hunter-gatherer
lifestyles are generally marginalized and set apart from the dominant
political and economic structures of the nation. Since the late 20th
century these peoples have increasingly sought recognition of their
rights as distinct Indigenous peoples, in both national and
international contexts.
Though the vast majority of African peoples are "indigenous" in
the sense that they originate from that continent, in practice, identity
as an Indigenous people per the modern definition is more
restrictive, and certainly not every African ethnic group claims
identification under these terms. Groups and communities who do claim
this recognition are those who, by a variety of historical and
environmental circumstances, have been placed outside of the dominant
state systems, and whose traditional practices and land claims often
come into conflict with the objectives and policies implemented by
governments, companies and surrounding dominant societies.
North Africa
The indigenous peoples of North Africa predominantly comprise the Berbers in the Maghreb and the Copts and Nubians in the Nile Valley. The vast majority of them have been Arabized after the Islamic conquests under the Rashidun and Umayyad caliphates.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas are broadly recognized as being
those groups and their descendants who inhabited the region before the
arrival of European colonizers and settlers (i.e., pre-Columbian).
Indigenous peoples who maintain, or seek to maintain, traditional ways
of life are found from the high Arctic north to the southern extremities
of Tierra del Fuego.
The impacts of historical and ongoing European colonization of the Americas on Indigenous communities have been in general quite severe, with many authorities estimating ranges of significant population decline
primarily due to disease, land theft and violence. Several peoples have
become extinct, or very nearly so. But there are and have been many
thriving and resilient Indigenous nations and communities.
North America
North America is sometimes referred to by Indigenous peoples as Abya Yala or Turtle Island.
In Mexico, about 11 million people, or 9% of Mexico's total
population, self-reported as Indigenous in 2015, making it the country
with the highest Indigenous population in North America. In the southern states of Oaxaca (65.73%) and Yucatán
(65.40%), the majority of the population is Indigenous, as reported in
2015. Other states with high populations of Indigenous peoples include Campeche (44.54%), Quintana Roo, (44.44%), Hidalgo, (36.21%), Chiapas (36.15%), Puebla (35.28%), and Guerrero (33.92%).
Indigenous peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada.
More currently, the term "Aboriginal" is being replaced with
"Indigenous". Several national organizations in Canada changed their
names from "Aboriginal" to "Indigenous". Most notable was the change of
Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AANDC) to Indigenous
and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) in 2015, which then split into
Indigenous Services Canada and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern
Development Canada in 2017. According to the 2016 Census, there are around 1,670,000 Indigenous people in Canada. There are currently over 600 recognized First Nations governments or bands
spread across Canada, such as the Cree, Mohawk, Mikmaq, Blackfoot,
Coast Salish, Innu, Dene and more, with distinctive Indigenous cultures,
languages, art, and music. First Nations peoples signed 11 numbered treaties across much of what is now known as Canada between 1871 and 1921, except in parts of British Columbia.
The Inuit have achieved a degree of administrative autonomy with the creation in 1999 of the territories of Nunavik (in Northern Quebec), Nunatsiavut (in Northern Labrador) and Nunavut, which was until 1999 a part of the Northwest Territories. The autonomous territory of Greenland within the Kingdom of Denmark
is also home to a recognized Indigenous and majority population of
Inuit (about 85%) who settled the area in the 13th century, displacing
the Indigenous European Greenlandic Norse.
In the United States, the combined populations of Native
Americans, Inuit and other Indigenous designations totaled 2,786,652
(constituting about 1.5% of 2003 U.S. census figures). Some 563
scheduled tribes are recognized at the federal level, and a number of
others recognized at the state level.
In
some countries (particularly in Latin America), Indigenous peoples form
a sizable component of the overall national population – in Bolivia,
they account for an estimated 56–70% of the total nation, and at least
half of the population in Guatemala and the Andean and Amazonian nations
of Peru. In English, Indigenous peoples are collectively referred to by
different names that vary by region, age and ethnicity of speakers,
with no one term being universally accepted.
While still in use in-group, and in many names of organizations,
"Indian" is less popular among younger people, who tend to prefer
"Indigenous" or simply "Native,
with most preferring to use the specific name of their tribe or Nation
instead of generalities. In Spanish or Portuguese speaking countries,
one finds the use of terms such as índios, pueblos indígenas, amerindios, povos nativos, povos indígenas, and, in Peru, Comunidades Nativas (Native Communities), particularly among Amazonian societies like the Urarina and Matsés. In Chile, there the most populous indigenous peoples are the Mapuche in the Center-South and the Aymaras in the North. Rapa Nui of Easter Island, who are a Polynesian people, are the only non-Amerindian indigenous people in Chile.
Indigenous peoples make up 0.4% of all Brazilian population, or about 700,000 people.
Indigenous peoples are found in the entire territory of Brazil,
although the majority of them live in Indian reservations in the North
and Center-Western part of the country. On 18 January 2007, FUNAI reported that it had confirmed the presence of 67 different uncontacted peoples in Brazil, up from 40 in 2005. With this addition Brazil has now overtaken the island of New Guinea as the country having the largest number of uncontacted peoples.
Armenians are the Indigenous people of the Armenian Highlands. There are currently more Armenians living outside their ancestral homeland because of the Armenian genocide of 1915.
Arabs are indigenous to the Arabian Peninsula, having spread to the greater middle East and North Africa following the Muslim conquests in 7th and 8th centuries.
Anatolian Greeks, including the Pontic Greeks and Cappadocian Greeks, are the Greek-speaking minorities that existed in Anatolia millennia before Turkic conquest. They are indigenous to Asiatic Turkey. Most were either killed in the Greek genocide or displaced during the following population exchange; however, some remain in Turkey.There has been a Greek presence in Anatolia since at least the 1000s BCE, and Greek traders visited western Anatolia beginning in 1900 BCE.
Assyrians are indigenous to Mesopotamia. They claim descent from the ancient Neo-Assyrian Empire, and lived in what was Assyria, their original homeland, and still speak dialects of Aramaic, the official language of the Assyrian Empire.
Copts are an ethnoreligious group, indigenous to Egypt and parts of the Sudan and Libya, one of the oldest Christian communities in the world.
There are competing claims that Palestinian Arabs and Jews are indigenous to historic Palestine/the Land of Israel. The argument entered the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in the 1990s, with Palestinians claiming Indigenous status as a pre-existing population displaced by Jewish settlement, and currently constituting a minority in the State of Israel. Israeli Jews have also claimed indigeneity, citing religious and historical connections to the land as their ancient homeland; some have disputed the authenticity of Palestinian claims. In 2007, the Negev Bedouin were officially recognized as Indigenous peoples of Israel by the United Nations. This has been criticized both by scholars associated with the Israeli state, who dispute the Bedouin's claim to indigeneity,
and those who argue that recognizing just one group of Palestinians as
indigenous risks undermining others' claims and "fetishizing" nomadic
cultures.
Ainu people are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. As Japanese settlement expanded, the Ainu were pushed northward and fought against the Japanese in Shakushain's Revolt and Menashi-Kunashir Rebellion, until by the Meiji period they were confined by the government to a reservation near Lake Akan in Hokkaidō. In a ground-breaking 1997 decision involving the Ainu people
of Japan, the Japanese courts recognized their claim in law, stating
that "If one minority group lived in an area prior to being ruled over
by a majority group and preserved its distinct ethnic culture even after
being ruled over by the majority group, while another came to live in
an area ruled over by a majority after consenting to the majority rule,
it must be recognized that it is only natural that the distinct ethnic
culture of the former group requires greater consideration."
Nivkh people are an ethnic group indigenous to Sakhalin, having a few speakers of the Nivkh language, but their fisher culture has been endangered due to the development of oil field of Sakhalin from 1990s.
In Russia,
definition of "Indigenous peoples" is contested largely referring to a
number of population (less than 50,000 people), and neglecting
self-identification, origin from indigenous populations who inhabited
the country or region upon invasion, colonization or establishment of
state frontiers, distinctive social, economic and cultural institutions.
Thus, indigenous peoples of Russia such as Sakha, Komi, Karelian and
others are not considered as such due to the size of the population
(more than 50,000 people), and consequently they "are not the subjects
of the specific legal protections."
The Russian government recognizes only 40 ethnic groups as indigenous
peoples, even though there are 30 other groups to be counted as such.
The reason of nonrecognition is the size of the population and
relatively late advent to their current regions, thus indigenous peoples
in Russia should be numbered less than 50,000 people.
The Malay Singaporeans are the Indigenous people of Singapore, inhabiting it since the Austronesian migration. They had established the Kingdom of Singapura back in the 13th century. The name "Singapore" is an anglicisation of the Malay name Singapura which is derived from the Sanskrit word for 'lion city'. The native Malay name for the main island of Singapore is Pulau Ujong.
Dayak People are one of the Indigenous groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located in Borneo,
each with its own dialect, customs, laws, territory, and culture,
although common distinguishing traits are readily identifiable.
The Cham are the Indigenous people of the former state of Champa which was conquered by Vietnam in the Cham–Vietnamese wars during Nam tiến.
The Cham in Vietnam are only recognized as a minority, and not as an
Indigenous people by the Vietnamese government despite being indigenous
to the region.
The Khmer Krom are the Indigenous people of the Mekong Delta and Saigon which were acquired by Vietnam from Cambodian King Chey Chettha II in exchange for a Vietnamese princess.
In Indonesia, there are 50 to 70 million people who are classified as Indigenous peoples by the local Indigenous rights advocacy group Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara. However, the Indonesian government does not recognize the existence of indigenous peoples, classifying every Native Indonesian ethnic group as "indigenous" despite the clear cultural distinctions of certain groups. This problem is shared by many other countries in the ASEAN region.
In Myanmar, indigenous peoples include the Shan, the Karen, the Rakhine, the Karenni, the Chin, the Kachin and the Mon. However, there are more ethnic groups that are considered indigenous, for example, the Akha, the Lisu, the Lahu or the Mru, among others.
Various ethnic groups have lived in Europe for millennia. However, the concept of indigenous peoples is rarely used in the European context
and the UN recognizes very few Indigenous populations within Europe;
those which are recognized as such are confined to the far north and far
east of the continent.
Indigenous minority populations in Europe include the Sámi peoples of northern Norway, Sweden, and Finland and northwestern Russia (in an area also referred to as Sápmi); the Nenets of northern Russia, and the Inuit of Greenland. Some sources describe the Sámi as the only recognized indigenous peoples in Europe, with others describing them as the only indigenous people in the European Union.
In Australia, the Indigenous populations are the Aboriginal Australian peoples (comprising many different nations and language groups) and the Torres Strait Islander peoples (also with sub-groups). These two groups are often referred to as Indigenous Australians, although terms such as First Nations and First Peoples are also used.
Pacific Islands
Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian peoples originally populated many of the present-day Pacific Island countries in the Oceania region over the course of thousands of years. European, American, Chilean and Japanese
colonial expansion in the Pacific brought many of these areas under
non-Indigenous administration, mainly during the 19th century. During
the 20th century, several of these former colonies gained independence
and nation-states formed under local control. However, various peoples
have put forward claims for Indigenous recognition where their islands
are still under external administration; examples include the Chamorros of Guam and the Northern Marianas, and the Marshallese of the Marshall Islands. Some islands remain under administration from Paris, Washington, London or Wellington.
The remains of at least 25 miniature humans, who lived between 1,000 and 3,000 years ago, were recently found on the islands of Palau in Micronesia.
In most parts of Oceania, Indigenous peoples outnumber the
descendants of colonists. Exceptions include Australia, New Zealand and Hawaii. In New Zealand, based on various factors including census data and self-identification, the proportion of full or part Māori of the population on 30 June 2021 was estimated to be 17%.
Māori developed from Polynesian people who settled in New Zealand after
migrations from other Pacific islands, probably in the 13th century. Many leaders of Māori nations (iwi) signed a written agreement with the British Crown in 1840, known as the Treaty of Waitangi.
A majority of the Papua New Guinea population is Indigenous, with more than 700 different nationalities recognized in a total population of 8 million.
The country's constitution and key statutes identify traditional or
custom-based practices and land tenure, and explicitly set out to
promote the viability of these traditional societies within the modern
state. However, conflicts and disputes concerning land use and resource
rights continue between indigenous groups, the government, and corporate
entities.
The 1989 ILO Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples mainly
concerns non-discrimination but also covers indigenous peoples’ rights
to development, customary laws, lands, territories and resources,
employment, education and health. By 2013, the convention had been
ratified by 22 countries, mainly in Latin America.
In 2007, the United Nations (UN) adopted a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
(UNDRIP) specifying the collective rights of Indigenous peoples,
including their rights to self-determination and to protect their
cultures, identities, languages, ceremonies, and access to employment,
health, education and natural resources.
The declaration is not a formally binding treaty but some provisions
might be considered customary international law. The declaration has
been endorsed by at least 148 states but its provisions have not been
consistently implemented.
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. 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 interactions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies
throughout history and contemporarily have 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.
Wherever Indigenous cultural identity is asserted, common
societal issues and concerns arise. These concerns are often not unique
to Indigenous groups. Despite the diversity of Indigenous peoples, they
share common problems and issues in dealing with the prevailing, or
invading, society. They are generally concerned that the cultures and
lands of Indigenous peoples are being lost and that Indigenous peoples
suffer both discrimination and pressure to assimilate into the
surrounding or colonizing 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 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). Despite the control of their territories, many Sakha people have lost their lands as a result of the Russian Homestead Act, which allows any Russian citizen to own any land in the Far Eastern region of Russia.
In Australia, a landmark case, Mabo v Queensland (No 2), saw the High Court of Australia reject the idea of terra nullius. This rejection ended up recognizing that there was a pre-existing system of law practiced by the Meriam people.
A 2009 United Nations publication says:
Although
indigenous peoples are often portrayed as a hindrance to development,
their cultures and traditional knowledge are also increasingly seen as
assets. It is argued that it is important for the human species as a
whole to preserve as wide a range of cultural diversity as possible, and that the protection of indigenous cultures is vital to this enterprise.
According to Samuel Totten, some governments do not respect the rights of Indigenous peoples.
In the latter part of the twentieth century the genocide of Indigenous
peoples in Australia and Namibia attracted more attention from the
international community including scholars and human rights organizations.
The Bangladeshi Government has stated that there are "no indigenous peoples in Bangladesh". This statement has angered the Indigenous peoples of Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh, collectively known as the Jumma.
Experts have protested against this move of the Bangladesh Government
and have questioned the Government's definition of the term "indigenous
peoples". 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.
Hindu Chams and Muslim Chams have both experienced religious and
ethnic persecution and restrictions on their faith under the current
Vietnamese government, with the Vietnamese state confiscating Cham
property and forbidding Cham from observing their religious beliefs.
Hindu temples were turned into tourist sites against the wishes of the
Cham Hindus. In 2010 and 2013 several incidents occurred in Thành Tín
and Phươc Nhơn villages where Cham were murdered by Vietnamese. In 2012,
Vietnamese police in Chau Giang village stormed into a Cham Mosque,
stole the electric generator, and also raped Cham girls.
Cham in the Mekong Delta have also been economically marginalized, with
ethnic Vietnamese settling on land previously owned by Cham people with
state support.
The Indonesian government has outright denied the existence of
Indigenous peoples within the countries' borders. In 2012, Indonesia
stated that 'The Government of Indonesia supports the promotion and
protection of indigenous people worldwide ... Indonesia, however, does
not recognize the application of the indigenous peoples concept ... in
the country'. Along with the brutal treatment of the country's Papuan people (a conservative estimate places the violent deaths at 100,000 people in West New Guinea since Indonesian occupation in 1963, see Papua Conflict) has led to Survival International condemning Indonesia for treating its Indigenous peoples as the worst in the world.
The Vietnamese viewed and dealt with the Indigenous Montagnards from the Central Highlands of Vietnam as "savages", which caused a Montagnard uprising against the Vietnamese.
The Vietnamese were originally centered around the Red River Delta but
engaged in conquest and seized new lands such as Champa, the Mekong
Delta (from Cambodia) and the Central Highlands during Nam Tien. While
the Vietnamese received strong Chinese influence in their culture and
civilization and were Sinicized, and the Cambodians and Laotians were
Indianized, the Montagnards in the Central Highlands maintained their
own Indigenous culture without adopting external culture and were the
true Indigenous of the region. To hinder encroachment on the Central
Highlands by Vietnamese nationalists, the term Pays Montagnard du Sud-Indochinois (PMSI) emerged for the Central Highlands along with the indigenous being addressed by the name Montagnard.
The tremendous scale of Vietnamese Kinh colonists flooding into the
Central Highlands has significantly altered the demographics of the
region. The anti-ethnic minority discriminatory policies by the Vietnamese, environmental degradation,
deprivation of lands from the Indigenous people, and settlement of
Indigenous lands by an overwhelming number of Vietnamese settlers led to
massive protests and demonstrations by the Central Highland's
indigenous ethnic minorities against the Vietnamese in January–February
2001. This event gave a tremendous blow to the claim often published by
the Vietnamese government that in Vietnam "There has been no ethnic
confrontation, no religious war, no ethnic conflict. And no elimination
of one culture by another."
In May 2016, the Fifteenth Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
(UNPFII) affirmed that Indigenous peoples are distinctive groups
protected in international or national legislation as having a set of
specific rights based on their linguistic and historical ties to a
particular territory, prior to later settlement, development or
occupation of a region. The session affirms that, since Indigenous peoples are vulnerable to exploitation, marginalization, oppression, forced assimilation, and genocide
by nation states formed from colonizing populations or by different,
politically dominant ethnic groups, individuals and communities
maintaining ways of life indigenous to their regions are entitled to
special protection.
The Indigenous people from Tanzania's Maasai
community were reportedly subjected to eviction from their ancestral
land to make way for a luxury game reserve by Otterlo Business
Corporation in June 2022. The game reserve
was reportedly being set up for the royals of the United Arab Emirates
also linked to OBC or the Otterlo Business Corporation. According to
lawyers and human rights groups and activists, approximately 30 Maasai
people were injured by security forces in the process of eviction and
delimiting a land area of 1500 km2. A 2019 UN
report has described OBC as a 'UAE-based' luxury-game hunting company,
granted a license to hunt by the Tanzanian government in 1992 for "the
UAE royal family to organize private hunting trips", denying the Maasai
people access to their own land.
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.
The World Health Organization
noted in 2003 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; higher prevalence of poor sanitation and lack of safe water among Twa households in Rwanda; a greater prevalence of childbirths without prenatal care among ethnic minorities in Vietnam; suicide rates among Inuit youth in Canada are eleven times higher than the national average; infant mortality rates are higher for Indigenous peoples everywhere.
The first UN publication on the State of the World's Indigenous
Peoples revealed alarming statistics about indigenous peoples' health.
Health disparities between indigenous and non-indigenous populations are
evident in both developed and developing countries. Native Americans in the United States
are 600 times more likely to acquire tuberculosis and 62% more likely
to commit suicide than the non-Indian population. Tuberculosis, obesity,
and type 2 diabetes are major health concerns for the indigenous in
developed countries.
Globally, health disparities touch upon nearly every health issue,
including HIV/AIDS, cancer, malaria, cardiovascular disease,
malnutrition, parasitic infections, and respiratory diseases, affecting
indigenous peoples at much higher rates. Many causes of Indigenous
children's mortality could be prevented. Poorer health conditions
amongst indigenous peoples result from longstanding societal issues,
such as extreme poverty and racism, but also the intentional
marginalization and dispossession of Indigenous peoples by dominant,
non-Indigenous populations and societal structures.
Indigenous peoples have frequently been subjected to various forms of racism and discrimination. Indigenous peoples have been denoted as being barbaric, primitive, savage or uncivilized.
These terms were commonly used during the heyday of European colonial
expansion, and they are still being used by certain societies in modern
times.
During the 17th century, Europeans commonly labeled Indigenous peoples "uncivilized". Some philosophers, such as Thomas Hobbes
(1588–1679), considered Indigenous people mere "savages". Others
(especially literary figures in the 18th century) popularized the
concept of "noble savages".
Those who were close to the Hobbesian view tended to believe that they
had a duty to "civilize" and "modernize" the Indigenous.
Survival International runs a campaign to stamp out media portrayals of Indigenous peoples as "primitives" or "savages".
After World War I
(1914–1918), many Europeans came to doubt the morality of the means
which were used to "civilize" peoples. At the same time, the
anti-colonial movement, and advocates for the rights of Indigenous
peoples, argued that words such as "civilized" and "savage" were
products and tools of colonialism,
and they also argued that colonialism itself was savagely destructive.
In the mid-20th century, European attitudes began to shift to the view
that Indigenous and tribal peoples are the only peoples who should have
the right to decide what should happen to their ancient cultures and
their ancestral lands.
Cultural appropriation
New Age and Neopagan adherents often look to the cultures of Indigenous peoples seeking to find ancient traditional truths and spiritual practices to appropriate into their lifestyles and worldviews.
Environmental injustice
Helena Gualinga, an indigenous environmental and human rights activist
At an international level, Indigenous peoples have received increased
recognition of their environmental rights since 2002, but few countries
respect these rights in reality. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly in 2007, established Indigenous peoples' right to self-determination,
stating rights to manage natural resources, and cultural and
intellectual property. In countries where these rights are recognized,
land titling and demarcation procedures are often put on delay, or
leased out by the state as concessions for extractive industries without consulting Indigenous communities.
Many in the United States federal government are in favor of exploiting oil reserves in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where the Gwich'in Indigenous people rely on herds of caribou. Oil drilling could destroy thousands of years of culture for the Gwich'in. On the other hand, some of the Inupiat people, from another Indigenous community in the region, favor oil drilling because they could benefit economically.
The introduction of industrial agricultural
technologies such as fertilizers, pesticides, and large plantation
schemes have destroyed ecosystems that Indigenous communities formerly
depended on, forcing resettlement. Development projects such as dam
construction, pipelines and resource extraction have displaced large
numbers of Indigenous peoples, often without providing compensation.
Governments have forced Indigenous peoples off of their ancestral lands
in the name of ecotourism
and national park development. Indigenous women are especially affected
by land dispossession because they must walk longer distances for water
and fuel wood. These women also become economically dependent on men
when they lose their livelihoods. Indigenous groups asserting their
rights has most often resulted in torture, imprisonment, or death.
The building of dams can hurt Indigenous peoples by hurting the ecosystems that provide them water, food. For example, the Munduruku people in the Amazon rainforest are opposing the building of Tapajós dam with the help of Greenpeace.
Most Indigenous populations are already subject to the
deleterious effects of climate change. Climate change has not only
environmental, but also human rights and socioeconomic implications for
Indigenous communities. The World Bank acknowledges climate change as an obstacle to Millennium Development Goals, notably the fight against poverty, disease, and child mortality, in addition to environmental sustainability.
Native American
dancer of the Save Our Ancestors Remains and Resources Indigenous
Network Group (SOARRING) Foundation, a not-for-profit organization whose
mission is to educate people about Indigenous ways of life
Indigenous knowledge is considered as very important for issues linked with sustainability. Professor Martin Nakata
is a pioneer in the field of bringing indigenous knowledge to
mainstream academics and media through digital documentation of unique
contributions by aboriginal people.
Knowledge reconstruction
The Western and Eastern Penan people are two major groups of Indigenous populations in Malaysia.
The Eastern Penan are famous for their resistance to loggers
threatening their natural resources, specifically Sago palms and various
fruit bearing trees. Because of the Penan's international fame,
environmentalists often visited the area to document such happenings and
learn more about and from the people there, including their perspective
on the land's invasion. While Indigenous people comprise less than 5%
of the population, they caretake for over 80% of global biodiversity.
Environmentalists such as Davis and Henley, who Brosius writes
lumped all native groups of Malaysia into one homogeneous group with the
same ideas and traditions, and lacked dialectical connections needed to
deeply understand the Penan, lacked full knowledge of the situation's
specific weight to the Indigenous peoples.
The two embarked on a mission, stating they wished to help with
conservation of the Penan's land resources, but Brosious states they
were among the many who repackaged traditional knowledge
into something that fit a Western narrative and agenda, and that Davis
and Henley romanticized and misconstrued the traditional Penan concept
of molong (meaning: "to preserve" – the Penan marked trees for personal
use and to preserve them for future harvesting of fruits or for
materials).
Another common occurrence is to extend Indigenous knowledge
beyond its limits and into unrelated meanings that western consumers
find spiritually profound. This tendency of journalists extends beyond
Davis and Henley. It serves non-Natives to add a narrative and value
beyond that which already exists within the knowledge base of Indigenous
peoples. Not only do these fictionalized accounts of some Indigenous
knowledge and traditions skew the beliefs of onlookers, but they also
contribute to cultural genocide as the actual spiritual and religious
beliefs of the Indigenous people are disappeared and replaced with the
westernized fiction.
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