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Indigenous Rights

By Bob BozoNovember 1, 2014

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Indigenous People Have Rights• Indigenous people were the first

people to live in a region. They have mostly been pushed aside by conquering people. Their rights issue includes:– Economic and social development – Culture – Environment – Education – Health – Human rights – Gender and indigenous women – Children and Youth – MDG's (Millennium Development

Goals)

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Who Are Indigenous People?• Have an historical connection with a

territory.• Vulnerable today to more powerful

nations and ethnic groups controlling their lands.

• Today have rights guaranteed by organizations like the United Nations, but do not see them protected by the nations they live in.

• Many have intermarried or blend in with the majority groups, at the loss of their own heritage.

• Others have formed associations, live close together to preserve their heritage while living among the majority groups.

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Some Indigenous Groups

• There are thousands from region to region and country to country.

• Some notables:– Australian “Aborigines”– Hmong (SE Asia)– Assyrian (West Asia)– Yanomami (Amazon)– Taureg (Sahel, N Africa)– Zulu (S Africa)– Pygmy (Central and W

Africa)

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Chiapas• The wealthy southern Mexican

state is inhabited mostly by impoverished people, 30% of whom are of Maya background.

• They have suffered severe discrimination and privation.

• Rebellion, led by the Ejército Zapatista de Liberación Nacional, broke out here when Mexico cancelled laws protecting indigenous lands from commercial development.

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Ainu

• Live mostly in Japan, • Discrimination has caused

many to deny their heritage, so how many are there, is hard to know.

• The Japanese Diet gave them official recognition in 2008.

• A small group in Hokkaido have formed the Ainu Party to promote and protect the Ainu people

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The Bushmen of the Namib• They live in the wilds of eight

southern African nations.• Modernization had forced them

to reduced their hunting/gathering lifestyle (to protect wildlife) in favor or subsistence farming.

• By using the courts of their nations and with the aid of Western legal experts, they have won more of their rights back (including patent royalties on a profitable plant used for dieting called hoodia gordonii)

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The Conflict

pro• Indigenous people were on

the land first.• Western law recognizes the

life and dignity of all people.• The indigenous culture

must be protected and taught to the young.

con• The conquering people

make the laws and must be obeyed by the indigenous people.

• The resources of the new nation must go to the majority first.

• Everyone in the new nation must adopt the new culture.

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Should the Indigenous Lifestyle be Protected?

Disadvantages• They are in the way of progress

for nations• They deny their children the

chance to have a modern living.• Some indigenous practices are

dangerous to others or the environment.

Advantages• They are people who have

survived well on the land• Humans need to know pride in

their ethnic heritage• Most indigenous groups have

ceased dangerous practices.

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How Are Indigenous Rights Being Asserted Worldwide?

• Organizations: (sample)– Amazon Defense Coalition.– First People of the Kalahari– Norwegian Sami

Association

– Yayasan Merah Putih– The United Nations:

– Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues• Declaration on the Rig

hts of Indigenous Peoples

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Evaluation of this work

Correct• Follows the ten-page template

correctly.– Title page– Intro page– Five sub-topic pages– Pos/neg (adv/disadv) page– Debate the world issue– Efforts toward the issue

• Basic requirements for each page MOSTLY met– Links to text– Links to images– picture

CoWrong (JK)• More than prescribed number of slides.• Some pages/text not linked• One page has horrible contrast, keep it

simple and readable.• Some missing links (one for text, one for

image)• Some links are browsers (google, yahoo,

etc.) not actual sites• Too wordy in places (keep bulleted; do

not plagiarize)• No special effects (do not worry about

sound)– Automation– Animation– Page transitions

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Other pointsDue when you get back from the holiday• File folder with research (MAKE

SURE IT’S A COPY AND YOU STILL HAVE ORIGINAL TO KEEP WORKING ON): – images, web page urls, – Also a STARTED PowerPoint so we

can see if it works on my computer.

• BTW, you can mail this folder to me:

• vortiz@lausd.net• I will inspect it and give you a

research grade. = 12 pts– Due 12/1/2014

Project itself is due:• 12/8/2014