Indigenous
Indigenous peoples, also known in some regions as First peoples, First Nations, Aboriginal peoples or Native peoples or autochthonous peoples, are ethnic groups who are the original or earliest known inhabitants of an area, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area more recently. Groups are usually described as indigenous when they maintain traditions or other aspects of an early culture that is associated with a given region. Not all indigenous peoples share this characteristic, as many have adopted substantial elements of a colonizing culture, such as dress, religion or language. Indigenous peoples may be settled in a given region (sedentary) or exhibit a nomadic lifestyle across a large territory, but they are generally historically associated with a specific territory on which they depend. Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent of the world except Antarctica.
Since indigenous peoples are often faced with threats to their sovereignty, economic well-being and access to the resources on which their cultures depend, political rights have been set forth in international law by international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.[3] In 2007, the United Nations issued a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) to guide member-state national policies to the collective rights of indigenous peoples, such as culture, identity, language and access to employment, health, education and natural resources. Estimates put the total population of indigenous peoples from 220 million to 350 million.
International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples is celebrated on 9 August each year.
The term 'indigenous peoples' refers to culturally distinct groups affected by colonization. The term started being used in the 1970s as a way of linking 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 's' in 'peoples' recognizes that there are real differences between different indigenous peoples.
James Anaya, former Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, has 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".
Indigenous is derived from the Latin word indigena, which is based on the root -genus, "to be born from", and the Old Latin prefix indu-, "in" Notably, the origins of the term "indigenous" are not related in any way to the origins of the term "Indian", which until recently was commonly applied to indigenous peoples of the Americas. Any given people, ethnic group or community may be described as "indigenous" in reference to some particular region or location that they see as their traditional indigenous land claim. Other terms for indigenous populations in use are 'First Peoples' or 'Native Peoples', 'First Nations' or 'People of the Land', 'Aboriginals', or 'Fourth World Peoples'. The words original, autochthonous or first (as in Canada's First Nations) are also used.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a people as "a body of persons that are united by a common culture, tradition, or sense of kinship, which typically have common language, institutions, and beliefs, and often constitute a politically organized group".
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