11.3 Indigenous rights and globalization

Indigenous rights and globalization are crucial topics in today's interconnected world. As global markets expand, indigenous communities face challenges to their lands, cultures, and ways of life. This clash between tradition and modernity raises important questions about self-determination and cultural preservation.

The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples aims to protect these communities. However, extractive industries and global demand for resources continue to threaten indigenous territories. Indigenous resistance movements have emerged in response, fighting to defend their rights and preserve their unique cultures.

Indigenous Rights and Self-Determination

Defining Indigenous Peoples and Self-Determination

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• Indigenous peoples are distinct social and cultural groups that have a historical continuity with pre-colonial societies
• Maintain strong links to territories and surrounding natural resources
• Often have distinct social, economic, and political systems, languages, cultures, and beliefs
• Self-determination is the right of indigenous peoples to freely determine their political status and pursue their economic, social, and cultural development
• Includes the right to autonomy or self-government in matters relating to their internal and local affairs

UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)

• Adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007
• Establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of indigenous peoples
• Addresses individual and collective rights, cultural rights and identity, rights to education, health, employment, and language
• Emphasizes the rights of indigenous peoples to maintain and strengthen their own institutions, cultures, and traditions
• Prohibits discrimination against indigenous peoples and promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them

Land, Culture, and Traditional Knowledge

Land Rights and Cultural Preservation

• Indigenous peoples have a special relationship with their ancestral lands, which are central to their identities, cultures, and spiritual beliefs
• Land rights include the right to own, use, develop, and control the lands, territories, and resources that they possess by reason of traditional ownership or other traditional occupation or use
• Cultural preservation involves the right to practice and revitalize cultural traditions and customs, including the right to maintain, protect, and develop past, present, and future manifestations of their cultures (archaeological and historical sites, artifacts, designs, ceremonies)

Traditional Knowledge and Biocultural Diversity

• Traditional knowledge refers to the knowledge, innovations, and practices of indigenous and local communities around the world, developed from experience gained over centuries and adapted to the local culture and environment
• Includes knowledge about traditional technologies (tools, techniques, and materials), as well as cultural expressions (music, dance, song, handicrafts, designs, ceremonies, and narratives)
• Biocultural diversity recognizes the interrelationships between biodiversity and cultural diversity, and how traditional knowledge contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity
• Examples of biocultural diversity include traditional agricultural systems (terrace farming in the Andes), agroforestry practices (Maya forest gardens), and sacred natural sites (Uluru in Australia)

Globalization and Extractivism

Extractivism and Its Impact on Indigenous Communities

• Extractivism refers to the process of extracting natural resources (minerals, oil, timber) for export to world markets, often with little or no processing
• Globalization has intensified extractivism by increasing demand for natural resources and facilitating their transportation and trade across borders
• Extractive industries often operate in or near indigenous territories, leading to environmental degradation, displacement of communities, and loss of traditional livelihoods
• Examples of extractive projects affecting indigenous communities include oil drilling in the Amazon rainforest, mining in the Andean highlands, and logging in the boreal forests of Canada

Indigenous Resistance to Extractivism and Globalization

• Indigenous peoples have been at the forefront of resistance to extractivism and globalization, defending their lands, resources, and ways of life
• Forms of resistance include protests, blockades, legal challenges, international advocacy, and alliances with environmental and human rights organizations
• Examples of indigenous resistance movements include the Zapatista uprising in Chiapas, Mexico, the Idle No More movement in Canada, and the Dakota Access Pipeline protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
• Indigenous resistance has contributed to the recognition of indigenous rights in international law and the development of alternative models of development based on buen vivir (living well) and the rights of nature