Defining Indigenous

Who are indigenous People? CBC 8th Fire – Aboriginal 101 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8SboZwwQSI What are some thoughts you have after watching this video. Can you make any connections to it? The Relationship in 3 Minutes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioT0C8smgHI

Early UN Definition In 1972 the UN adopted this definition: ‘Indigenous populations are the peoples who inhabited the present territory of a country at the time when persons of a different culture 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.

World Bank Definition Indigenous Peoples can be identified in particular geographical areas by the presence in varying degrees of the following characteristics: a) close attachment to ancestral territories and to the natural resources in these areas; b) self-identification and identification by others as members of a distinct cultural group; c) an indigenous language, often different from the national language; d) presence of customary social and political institutions; e) primarily subsistence-oriented production.

Problems with Identifying Indigenous People WRITE THESE DOWN!

1. ‘Original dwellers of the land’ ISSUES: What if the indigenous group has been displaced from its original/traditional location because of war, unfriendly governments, environmental destruction etc.? How many years does an indigenous group have to live in an area to be considered indigenous?

2. Challenge of Modern and Dominant Societies ISSUES: How much of the modern practices/technologies does the group adopt? Do indigenous groups have to live in traditional ways to be indigenous? Can they adapt modern practices? This is an issue for indigenous groups themselves as they strive to resist assimilation

3. Member of an indigenous group not identifying ISSUES: Reasons may be emotional, psychological, legal, political, economic and/or social The dominant group may have greater control over the indigenous group, which may result in government persecution of the group and limits on their cultural expression It may be easier (even safer) not to identify as part of that group Indigenous people may want to avoid negative stereotypes and not be treated differently

Why should we study indigenous peoples? Outlining the purpose of the course.

The Ethnosphere A term coined by Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis. Defined as the sum total of all thoughts and intuitions, myths and beliefs, ideas and inspirations brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness. It is humanity’s greatest legacy. (The cultural equivalent of Earth’s “biosphere”)

Threats to the Ethnosphere Of the almost 7000 languages spoken today, less than half are being taught to children. Every two weeks an elder dies and takes a language with them. Over 600 are spoken by less than 100 people. 3500 languages are kept alive by only 0.2% of the world’s population. Within a generation we could lose half of humanity’s social, cultural and intellectual legacy.

Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all spoke the same language?

The importance of language ‘Language is a flash of the human spirit, the vehicle by which the soul of each particular culture comes into the material world.’ Wade Davis ‘When you lose a language you lose a culture, intellectual wealth, a work of art. Its like dropping a bomb on the Louvre.’ Kenneth Hale, linguist professor at M.I.T.

Ted talk video: Wade Davis – “Dreams from Endangered Cultures” http://www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_enda ngered_cultures?language=en