The term indigenous peoples has no universal, standard or invariant definition. Several widely-accepted formulations have been put forward by key internationally-recognised organizations, such as the United Nations, the International Labour Organization and the World Bank.

An indigene is literally someone or something that is native to or originating from a given place. Therefore, when indigenous is used purely as an adjective, an "indigenous people" is a group or culture regarded as "coming from" a given place. In this broad sense almost any person or group is indigenous to some location or other.

Indigenous populations are composed of the existing descendants of the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country wholly or partially at the time when persons of a different culture or ethnic origin arrived there from other parts of the world, overcame them, by conquest, settlement or other means, reduced them to a non-dominant or colonial condition; who today live more in conformity with their particular social, economic and cultural customs and traditions than with the institutions of the country of which they now form part, under a state structure which incorporates mainly national, social and cultural characteristics of other segments of the population which are predominant.

This definition has some limitations which were subsequently noted by the organization. The definition applies mainly to pre-colonial populations, and would likely exlude other isolated
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Drawing on these, a contemporary working definition of "indigenous peoples" has criteria which would seek to include cultural groups (and their descendants) who have an historical continuity or association with a given region, or parts of a region, and who formerly or currently inhabit the region either:

• prior to its subsequent colonization or annexation; or
• alongside other cultural groups during the formation of a nation-state; or
• independently or largely isolated from the influence of the claimed governance by a nation-state,

and who furthermore

• have maintained at least in part their distinct linguistic, cultural and social / organizational characteristics, and in doing so remain differentiated in some degree from the surrounding populations and dominant culture of the nation-state.

To the above, a criterion is usually added to also include:

• peoples who are self-identified as indigenous, and those recognised as such by other groups.

Indigenous societies range from those who have been significantly exposed to the colonizing or expansionary activities of other societies (example: the Maya of Central America) through to those which as yet remain in comparative isolation from any external influence (example: remote highland communities of New Guinea).

Numerically, it can be estimated that as of the start of the 21st century at least 350 million people worldwide would be considered as indigenous under these criteria. Contemporary distinct indigenous groups survive in populations ranging from only a few dozen to hundreds of thousands or more. Many indigenous populations have undergone a dramatic decline and even extinction, and remain threatened in many parts of the world. In other cases, indigenous populations are undergoing a recovery or expansion in numbers.

Certain indigenous societies persist even though they may no longer inhabit their "traditional" lands, owing to migration, relocation, forced resettlement or having been supplanted by other cultural groups.

Characteristics common across many indigenous groups include present or historical reliance upon subsistence-based production (based on pastoralism, agricultural and/or hunting and gathering), and a predominantly non-urbanized society. Indigenous societies may be either essentially settled in a given location or exhibit a nomadic lifestyle across a large territory. Indigenous societies are found in every inhabited climate zone and continent.

Other organizations have been formed with the object of advancing the causes of indigenous peoples, and to explore and establish a degree of political autonomy. Several indigenous communities have achieved this to a certain extent (example: the creation in 1999 of the Nunavut territory of the Inuit in northern Canada).

About Indigenous Peoples

At least 350 million people worldwide are considered to be indigenous ("indigenous ethnic minorities," "tribal groups" and/or "scheduled tribes"). The term indigenous peoples refers to the descendants of the original habitants of a region prior to colonization who have maintained some or all of their linguistic, cultural and organizational characteristics. In addition, self-identification is a fundamental criterion.

History

Indigenous people of Greece, who had lived there since before any of the waves of Hellenic migration, as "Pelasgians." In antiquity, the Greek term for all non-Greek speaking peoples was "barbarians".

Indigenous peoples are also sometimes identified as primitives, savages, or uncivilized. These terms were common during the heyday of European colonial expansion. By the 17th century, indigenous peoples were commonly labeled "uncivilized".

Proponents of civilization, like Thomas Hobbes, considered them merely savages; critics of civilization, such as Jean Jacques Rousseau, considered them to be "noble savages". Those who were close to the Hobbesian view tended to believe themselves to have a duty to civilize and modernize indigenes. Although anthropologists, especially from Europe, used to apply these terms to all tribal cultures, it has fallen into disfavor as demeaning and, according to anthropologists, inaccurate.

After World War I, however, many Europeans came to doubt the value of civilization. At the same time, the anti-colonial movement, and advocates of indigenous peoples, argued that words such as "civilized" and "savage" were products and tools of colonialism, and argued that colonialism itself was savagely destructive.

In the mid 20th century, Europeans began to recognize that indigenous and tribal peoples should have the right to decide for themselves what should happen to their ancient cultures and their ancestral lands.

Inuit

Inuit are a people who live near the Arctic. Their homeland stretches from the northeastern tip of Russia across Alaska and northern Canada to parts of Greenland. Inuit refers to the people formerly called Eskimos. The term Eskimo comes from a Native American word that may have meant 'eater of raw meat'. They prefer the name Inuit, which means 'the people' or 'real people' and comes from a language called Inuit-Inupiaq. The singular of Inuit is Inuk, which means 'person'.

As the Inuit spread eastward, they modified their way of life to suit the Arctic environments they encountered. They caught fish and hunted seals, walruses and whales. On land, they hunted caribou, musk oxen, polar bear and other small animals. They used animal skins to make tents and clothes. They crafted tools and weapons from the animals' bones, antlers, horns and teeth. In summer, they traveled in boats covered with animal skin, called kayaks and in winter, on sleds pulled by dogteams. Most Inuit lived in tents in the summer and in large sod houses during the winter. When traveling in search of game in winter, they built snow houses.

The land

The Inuit live in one of the coldest and harshest regions of the world. Inuit lands include the northeastern tip of Siberia, the islands of the Bering Sea, and the coastal regions of mainland Alaska. They also include the north coast and islands of the Canadian Arctic and most of the west coast and part of the east coast of Greenland. The region is often called the Land of the Midnight Sun because at a certain point of the year the sun can be seen for twenty-four hours.

The communities

The communities in the Arctic are centers for trade, commerce, culture and education. The sizes range from as small as a few people to much larger centres with a few thousand people. However large or small, each community has its own history and is surrounded by its own unique landscape

The Economy

The traditional way of life has ended for most Inuit. They live in wooded homes rather than snow houses, sod houses or tents. They wear modern clothing instead of animal skin garments. Most Inuit speak English, Russian, or Danish in addition to their native language. The kayak and the umiak have given way to motorboats, the snowmobile has replaced the dog team. Today's Inuit must compete in the modern economic world instead of the world of nature.

Ancient Russia

The vast lands of Russia were home to disunited tribes who were variously overwhelmed by invading Goths, Huns, and Turkic Avars between the third and sixth centuries CE. The Iranian Scythians populated the southern steppes, and a Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the western portion of these lands through the eighth century. They in turn were displaced by a group of Scandinavians, the Varangians, who established a capital at the Slavic city of Novgorod and gradually merged with Slavs. The Slavs constituted the bulk of the population from the 8th century onwards and slowly assimilated both the Scandinavians as well as native Finno-Ugric tribes, such as the Merya, the Muromians and the Meshchera.

The Varangian dynasty lasted several centuries, during which they affiliated with the Byzantine, or Orthodox, church and moved the capital to Kiev in 1169 A.D. In this era the term "Rhos", or "Russ", first came to be applied to the Varangians and the Slavs who peopled the region. In the 10th to 11th centuries this state of Kievan Rus became the largest in Europe and was quite prosperous, due to diversified trade with both Europe and Asia.

In the 13th century the area suffered from internal disputes and was overrun by eastern invaders, the Golden Horde of the pagan Mongols and Muslim Turkic-speaking nomads who pillaged the Russian principalities for over three centuries. Also known as the Tatars, they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Russia, while its western zone was largely incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland. The political dissolution

The Indigenous People in the Chittagong

The Chakma is the largest ethnic minority group in Bangladesh. Although Bengalis number more than Chakma in the CHT, there are more Chakma in the CHT than all the other Indigenous peoples put together. A large number of Chakma also live scattered about in the states of Tripura, Mizoram, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India. They are estimated to number about 150,000. Besides, a small number of Chakma also live in Cox’s Bazar district and in Myanmar. According to the Census of 1991, the total number of Chakma in the CHT was 239,417. It is unlikely that the 1991 Census accounted for the more than 50,000 refugees from the CHT were in refugee camps in India. The vast majority of these refugees is Chakma. Even otherwise, many indigenous groups in the country believe that their number is actually far higher than is recorded in the official government estimates. It is not known how far this belief is true, but there is no doubt that the actual number of Chakma who are residents of the CHT is far higher than the figure recorded in the Census Report of 1991.

The Chakma language belongs to the Indo-European family of languages and has close links with Pali, Assamese and Bengali. The Chakma have their own script in which their ancient religious literature is preserved in palm leaves. The script has similarities with Mon Khmer and Burmese. Although many elderly Chakma still sign their names in the Chakma script, most Chakma youths no longer use the script. At school, the Chakma study in Bengali and in English. The Chakma have perhaps proved to be the most adaptive and innovative of all the indigenous peoples of the CHT. By nature, most Chakma are down-to-earth and socially shy, but nevertheless romantic, although they will seldom admit it. The head of Chakma society is the Chakma Chief who is descended from the general who led the resistance movement against the British East India Company’s forces in the 1770s.

The Chakma have been followers of Gautama Buddha for long but the Chakma brand of Buddhism always had room for indigenous gods and spirits, including some from the Hindu pantheon. Today, the Chakma are almost 100% Theravada Buddhist.

The Marma

The Marma is the second largest indigenous ethnic group in the CHT. They have been Theravadan Buddhists, like the Burmese, Thai and Sri Lankan, for many centuries. The Marma have their own script and speak a language which is almost identical to that of the Rakhine or Rakhaing of Cox’s Bazar and Patuakhali districts in Bangladesh and Arakan state in Myanmar (Burma). The 1991 Census puts the total number of Marma in the CHT as 142,334; 59,228 in Bandarban, 42,178 in Khagrachari and 40,868 in Rangamati.

The Marmas are great lovers of music and drama. Before the advent of the cinema and television throngs of Marma youth in their best attire would pass the better part of a night watching folk dances and operatic performances. The Marmas are very fond of fairs. They have the peculiar knack of converting even their religious festivals into occasions of fun and gaiety. Traditionally, both men and women are fond of smoking pipes and cigars, all locally made. Rice beer or distilled rice spirits are very popular among the men. Among the Marma, there are both swidden agriculturists and sedentary rice farmers. Of the hill peoples of the region the Marma usually make the best traders although the Chakma are also trying hard to become retail traders. The Marma language is soft and poetic and even people who do not understand Marma love to hear Marma songs.
The Marma in the southern CHT, including all of Bandarban, owe traditional loyalty to the Bohmong Chief, Bohmongri, who traces his lineage from Burmese generals. The Bohmong is the supreme arbiter on the personal laws of the indigenous peoples in his territory. Today, apart from farmers, many Marma are traders, service-people and professionals such as doctors, engineers, etc. As with the Tripura and other peoples speaking a Tibeto-Burman tongue, the Marma also start out with a disadvantage with the medium of instruction in schools being in the Bengali language. Introduction of primary education in the Marma language is believed to be a necessary step for the progress of education among the Marma. They have a beautiful language. It certainly deserves official recognition.

The Tripura

The Tripura, most Tripura call themselves Tipra, the Tripura have about 36 sub-groups or dafas, the most well known of which are the Fatung, Jamatia, Naitong, Noatia, Ryang and Usui. The Tripura language belongs to the Bodo branch of the Tibeto-Burman family of languages. Although many Tripura follow their own gods, they also venerate such Hindu gods and goddesses as Lakshmi, Ganga, Saraswati, Kali and Shiva.

According to the Census of 1991, the total number of Tripura in the CHT was 61,129 out of which more than three quarters lived in the Khagrachari district alone, bordering Tripura state of India. There are more than half a million Tripura in Tripura State, India. A very small number of Tripura also live in the districts of Chittagong, Comilla, Noakhali. Before they were marginalised from their lands, a significant number of Tripura used to live in these districts. Like the Tanchangya, the Tripura too were traditionally swidden cultivators although they have now diversified into many occupations. The Tripura have many university graduates nowadays, but their language is so different from Bengali that they face disadvantages in studying in Bengali from their earliest years. The introduction of primary education in the Tripura language will most likely lead to a vast improvement in the rate of literacy of the Tripura.

Indigenous People of Australia

Australia is a multicultural society, consisting of people from all around the world. Australia has always had a mix of cultures and people although not in the same way as it does today.

Before 1788 Australia was populated only by the Indigenous people of Australia - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. In 1788 Aboriginal people inhabited the whole of Australia and Torres Strait Islanders lived on the islands between Australian and Papua New Guinea, in what is now called the Torres Strait. There were many different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities made up of people who spoke different languages with various cultural beliefs, practices and traditions.

Before 1788 there were approximately 700 languages spoken throughout Australia with an estimated population of 750 000 people. Today Indigenous people make up 2% of the entire Australian population (about 410 000 people). The number of Aboriginal people has changed since European settlement because of the effects of removal of people from traditional lands and the impact of cities and towns on populations.

In many ways Indigenous Australia was different in the past from what it is today. Before the arrival of people from Europe on the First Fleet, there were no horses or carriages, no tall buildings, no large farms and no travellers from the other side of the world. Australia was a largely unspoilt country where people respected the environment around them and made sure animals and plants were never over hunted or over collected. People only took enough to feed the number of people there at the time and nothing was wasted. This ensured there would be food next times they or someone else needed it.

Indigenous people lived a hunter and gatherer life. The men hunted the large animals such as kangaroos, emus and turtles and the women and children hunted smaller animals and collected fruits, berries and other plants. On the coast people caught fish and collected many types of shellfish including mussels and oysters.

To maintain the fragile environment and because of seasonal variations people would only stay in an area for a certain time. This helped make sure they didn't hunt, fish or harvest an area too much so there would be food for the next season. Every part of the animal and plant was eaten or used to make things such as clothing, baskets, tools and weapons.

It is sometimes said that Indigenous people did not own land and just wandered around. This myth has come about because Indigenous people did not mark out their lands in ways that were obvious to Europeans. There were no fences or barriers as in the traditional European way of marking land ownership and so the Europeans concluded that no one owned the land.

Indigenous people divided the land up into traditional lands using geographic boundaries such as rivers, lakes and mountains. The Elders passed down the knowledge about boundaries to the younger people. There were no books and so the elders would pass on the knowledge by talking with the younger people and children, and through songs, dance, art and storytelling.
Australia today is a much different place from when the First Fleet arrived in 1788 with convicts and marines. Just as in the past, Indigenous Australians live throughout Australia but now this includes cities, towns, the coast, rural areas and the outback. There is no one Indigenous culture but a mixture of contemporary and traditional thoughts, ways and practices

Compiled and researched by Natasha Mooney.

The Sections in Background Information are based on The Indigenous Australia exhibition on Level G at the Australian Museum.

The Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders today?

An Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander is:

• A person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent
• A person who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and
• A person who is accepted by the Aboriginal community in which he or she lives.

Indigenous issues

Indigenous peoples confront a diverse range of issues and concerns associated with their status and interaction with other cultural groups, and changes in their inhabited environment. These challenges may be either specific to particular groups, or are commonly experienced by many such groups.

These issues include cultural and linguistic preservation, land rights, ownership and exploitation of natural resources, political determination and autonomy, environmental degradation and incursion, poverty, health, and discrimination. The interaction between indigenous and non-indigenous societies throughout history has been a complex one, ranging from outright conflict and subjugation to some degree of mutual benefit and cultural transfer. A particular aspect of anthropological study involves investigation into the ramifications of what is termed first contact, the study of what occurs when two cultures first encounter one another. The situation can be further confused when Indigenous societies possess an often unique body of cultural and environmental knowledge. The preservation and investigation of specialised indigenous knowledge, particularly in relation to the resources of the natural environment with which the society is associated, is an increasingly sought-after goal of both the indigenous and the societies who thereby seek to identify new resources and benefits (example: partnerships established to research useful biological extracts from vegetation in the Amazon rainforests).

Representation

Indigenous peoples are represented in the United Nations by the Working Group on Indigenous Populations (WGIP). In late December 2004, the United Nations' General Assembly proclaimed 2005-2014 to be the Second International Decade of the World's Indigenous People. The main goal of the new decade will be to strengthen international cooperation around resolving the problems faced by indigenous people in areas such as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development. There is a complicated or contested history of migration and population of a given region, which can give rise to disputes about primacy and ownership of the land and resources.

Indigenous Peoples Around The World:

• Ainu: Japan, though not yet officially recognized as such by the government, and Sakhalin Island, Russia
• Australian Aborigines: Australia
• Awá: Eastern Amazon rainforest, Brazil
• Ayoreo: The Chaco, Paraguay/Bolivia
• Basques: Northern Spain and Southern France
• Berbers: western North Africa (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco)
• Bororo: Mato Grosso, Brazil
• Bushmen: Kalahari Desert, Botswana/Namibia
• Copts: Egypt (ancient Egyptian language preserved in ceremony)
• Degar: The Montagnards of South East Asia
• Enxet: Paraguay
• Frisians: Netherlands, Germany
• Haida: north-east coast of the Pacific
• Hawaiians: Hawaii, United States
• Innu: Labrador/Quebec, Canada)
• Inuit: Russia/Alaska/Canada/Greenland
• Jarawa: Andaman Islands, India
• Maasai: Kenya and Tanzania
• Makuki: Brazil/Guyana
• Maori: New Zealand
• Mapuche: Chile/Argentina
• Moriori: Chatham Islands
• Naga: north-east India
• Native Americans: United States of America, Aboriginal peoples of Canada; some U.S. tribes also found in Mexico
• Negritos, so-called: Pygmy-sized people of the Andaman Islands, the Semang of Malay peninsula, Philippines, New Guinea. The Malay term for the Negritos was orang asli or original people.
• Northern indigenous peoples of Russia: over 30 distinct tribes, each with their own language and culture in Siberia and Russia
• Nuba: Sudan
• Ogiek: Kenya
• Papuans: at least 250 distinct tribes, each with their own language and culture in Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya, Indonesia
• Penan: Sarawak, Malaysia
• Pygmy peoples: Central and Western Africa
• Sami: Northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Siberia
• Sakai: Malay peninsula, distinct from Negritos
• Secwepermc: British Columbia, Canada
• Semang: Malay peninsula so-called Negrito, see above
• St'at'imc: Lillooet, British Columbia, Canada
• Tasaday: Mindanao, southernmost island of the Philippines
• Tibetans: Central Asia
• Guarani and other Tupi peoples: Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Argentina
• Taiwanese aborigines: East Asia
• Torres Strait Islanders: Australia
• Tsimshian: British Columbia