INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

1Native to a particular region or environment (thefreedictionary.com)EASY DEFINITION:

2HARDER DEFINITION:Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, 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 on 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 system.www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/.../workshop_data_background.doc

3Whats Different?Language

Social, cultural, economic, and political traditions.

The way they make money.

The way they live and use resources.

4Some Statistics:There are 300-500 million indigenous groups worldwide.

Indigenous people account for 6% of the total world population.

Indigenous people remain among the worlds poorest

Indigenous people have often been impoverished, displaced or even decimated by intensive agriculture, industrial logging and infrastructure developments.

Australian Aboriginals are but a few of those whose land has been contaminated by nuclear tests.

Life expectancy is substantially lower for indigenous people.

Suicide, alcohol and drug-related problems are more common in indigenous communities.

www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfiiwww.cwis.org/fwdp/Americas/imc-96.txt

and are often disproportionately victimized by the effects of armed conflict--5Australia vs. United States of AmericaAustraliaUnited States of AmericaPopulation (2008 estimate)20, 600, 856303, 824, 650Landmass (Square Miles)2, 939, 9743, 794, 083People/Square Mile6.476People/Doctor400390Electricity Consumption9.17 kwh per person12,877.72 kwh per person6The Stolen Generation refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families and communities by the State and Territory governments of Australia. While Indigenous children were taken away from the very beginning of colonization, the Stolen Generation more usually refers to children removed under deliberate government policies from the beginning of the 20th century until the 1970s.STOLEN GENERATION7

8The half-caste children removed from their homes are known in Australia as the "Stolen Generations. Here is an example of a scene described in the report: I was at the post office with my Mum and Auntie [and cousin]. They put us in the police ute [utility vehicle] and said they were taking us to Broome. They put the mums in there as well. But when we'd gone [about ten miles] they stopped, and threw the mothers out of the car. We jumped on our mothers' backs, crying, trying not to be left behind. But the policemen pulled us off and threw us back in the car. They pushed the mothers away and drove off, while our mothers were chasing the car, running and crying after us. We were screaming in the back of that car. When we got to Broome they put me and my cousin in the Broome lock-up. We were only ten years old. We were in the lock-up for two days waiting for the boat to Perth.

Confidential evidence 821 Rabbit Proof Fence9