Blog post: International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples

Written by Susanne Urbina,  ESPC Capacity Support Assistant

Our First Nations, Inuit and Métis people across Canada are recognized and celebrated for their history, heritage, resilience and diversity every June. Another opportunity to commemorate our country’s Indigenous community as well as all other Indigenous peoples around the globe, is on August 9^th, which is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples.

In 1982 , the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, held their first meeting in Geneva. This day was later adopted in 1994 by the UN General Assembly to celebrate projects, activities, and knowledge of the world’s Indigenous Peoples (UNESCO, n.d. para. 1) and to promote and protect their rights.

“Indigenous peoples have in common a historical continuity with a given region prior to colonization and a strong link to their lands. They maintain, at least in part, distinct social, economic and political systems. They have distinct languages, cultures, beliefs and knowledge systems.” They are committed to maintaining and developing their distinctiveness and unique communities (United Nations, n.d. para. 3).

The global Indigenous community of 476 million makes up 6.2% of the world’s population, occupies 22% of the world’s land area, and represents 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Indigenous Peoples in Latin America represent 8% of the 5,000 different cultures while over 75% live in China, South and Southeast Aisa (Amnesty International, n.d. para.1, World Bank Group, n.d. para. 2).

Estimated Distribution of Indigenous Peoples. Source: Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Development, 2014

The 7,000 languages spoken by Indigenous people worldwide represent 90 countries but unfortunately, some estimates indicate that more than half of the world’s languages are at risk of becoming extinct by the year 2100 (Amnesty International, n.d. para. 1, World Bank Group, n.d. para. 1). On average, a language disappears every two weeks, stripping the cultural and intellectual heritage of communities. Hence,  revitalizing, conserving, and promoting all languages (UNESCO, 2024, para. 2).

These different cultures are honored on days of recognition, but the world’s Indigenous Peoples are still confronted with marginalization, discrimination, and violence. Due to the continued effects of colonialism and present systemic barriers, around 19% of this diverse population account for the world’s extreme poverty. As a result of these circumstances that lead to malnutrition and lack of health care resources, life expectancy is reduced by around 20 years compared to non-Indigenous Peoples around the world (World Bank Group, n.d. para. 2). Other factors that also contribute to a shorter life expectancy for Indigenous people are that they are the most imprisoned demographic group, they experience more issues with literacy, and they face higher unemployment rates (AMNESTY International, n.d. para. 3,4).

As a result of many Indigenous reserve lands being in remote or inaccessible places, Indigenous people who live there may be more susceptible to pandemics and epidemics. When these societies are affected, they’re often excluded from the treatments available. The elderly and those with underlying conditions are more affected when they’re sick and risk dying. An untimely death of an Elder, the knowledge keeper, risks a loss of knowledge, language and identity of a culture (World Bank Group, 2020. para. 3,4). Heightened susceptibility to climate change, restricted access to education and other related socioeconomics also contribute to ill-health (Hall, G., Gandolfo, A., 2016).

Insecure land and property rights have and still play a big part affecting custody of ancestral lands world-wide which have been exploited. This results in displacement, homelessness and a disruption to their culture, often without their community’s knowledge or consent, or with very few represented in these processes (United Nations, n.d. para 8). Indigenous people are working to prevent the destruction of their own land and all of mother-earth. “It’s a kind of incredible irony that all over the world the leading forces in trying to prevent a race to (ecological) disaster are the Indigenous communities.” (Stiftl, C., 2016)

In Journey into Biodiversity, Maria Tosa Cardenas shares “the only way to achieve sustainable development is by achieving a balance with nature”, emphasizing the importance of establishing Biosphere Reserves to “help us understand changes and interactions between social and ecological systems, providing local solutions to global challenges.” (UNESCO, 2024)

The threats to Indigenous peoples’ cultures and lands, to their status and other legal rights haven’t been the same throughout history. Some Indigenous communities around the world have been successful in being acknowledged, but most of the world’s Indigenous Peoples are still actively seeking recognition of their identities and ways of life (Province of Manitoba, n.d., para. 7).

To recognize August 9^th, International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is to support and celebrate identities and culture. In this way, we may be able to preserve other world languages, customs, and increase our understanding of other worldviews.

References

UNESCO (n.d.) International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples https://www.unesco.org/en/international-day-worlds-indigenous-peoples

United Nations (n.d.) Indigenous Peoples, Common Historical Continuity https://www.un.org/en/fight-racism/vulnerable-groups/indigenous-peoples

Amnesty International (n.d.) Indigenous Peoples Rights  https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/indigenous-peoples/#:~:text=There%20are%20more%20than%205%2C000,speak%20more%20than%204%2C000%20languages.

World Bank Group (n.d.). Indigenous Peoples https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/indigenouspeoples

UNESCO (March 5, 2024). Multilingual education, the bet to preserve indigenous languages and justice. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/multilingual-education-bet-preserve-indigenous-languages-and-justice?hub=66750

World Bank Group (August 7, 2020) Everyone Equal: The Resilience of Indigenous Peoples Across the Globe. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/08/07/everyone-equal-the-resilience-of-indigenous-peoples-across-the-globe

Gillette Hall, Ariel Gandolfo, August 09, 2016, Poverty and Exclusion Among Indigenous Peoples, Voice  https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/voices/poverty-and-exclusion-among-indigenous-peoples-global-evidence

United Nations. (n.d.) Indigenous Peoples-the challenges they face. https://www.un.org/en/fight-racism/vulnerable-groups/indigenous-peoples

Cassie Stiftl, August 09, 2016, Support Indigenous Resilience on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, Pachamam Alliance https://news.pachamama.org/news/support-indigenous-resilience-on-international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-peoples?utm_term=&utm_campaign=Dynamic+Campaign&utm_source=adwords&utm_medium=ppc&hsa_tgt=dsa-19959388920&hsa_grp=154399889707&hsa_src=g&hsa_net=adwords&hsa_mt=&hsa_ver=3&hsa_ad=666281953619&hsa_acc=3809916187&hsa_kw=&hsa_cam=20377498982&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw5Ky1BhAgEiwA5jGujgvRHTHoRzhbMqYBTX_XE4npJbW0X8ky0G_xPpCctGhCoMggA68mbBoC9LsQAvD_BwE

UNESCO, Martha Ruiz Corzo “Pati”. (February 13, 2024). Journey into Biodiversity: Discover Pati’s story on the UNESCO Green Citizens podcast. https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/journey-biodiversity-discover-patis-story-unesco-green-citizens-podcast?hub=66750

Province of Manitoba. (n.d.). Indigenous Peoples of the World. https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/cur/socstud/foundation_gr8/blms/8-5-2b.pdf