Indigenous Peoples: Culture, Law and Politics — Suggested Reading

[Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the second Monday in October is in reference to the indigenous peoples of the Americas. It is distinguished from the global celebration of International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, 9 August.]  

Adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: 13 years later (12 September 2020)

• The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) was adopted by the General Assembly on 13 September 2007, with 144 countries voting in support, 4 voting against and 11 abstaining.
• Thirteen years have passed since the UN Declaration was adopted by the General Assembly. Since then, the four countries voting against have reversed their position and now support the Declaration.
• Today the Declaration is the most comprehensive international instrument on the rights of indigenous peoples. It establishes a universal framework of minimum standards for the survival, dignity and well-being of the indigenous peoples of the world and it elaborates on existing human rights standards and fundamental freedoms as they apply to the specific situation of indigenous peoples.

Some highlights of the Declaration

• Seventeen of the forty-five articles of the Declaration deal with indigenous culture and how to protect and promote it, by respecting the direct input of indigenous peoples in decision-making, and allowing for resources, such as those for education in indigenous languages and other areas.
• Fifteen of the forty-six articles of the Declaration are about indigenous peoples’ participation in all decisions that will affect their lives, including meaningful participation in a democratic polity.
• The Declaration confirms the right of indigenous peoples deprived of their means of subsistence and development are entitled to just and fair redress. Essentially, the Declaration outlaws discrimination against indigenous peoples, promotes their full and effective participation in all matters that concern them, as well as their right to remain distinct and to pursue their own visions of economic and social development.

See too the bibliographies on (i) The Bedouin, (ii) North American Indians, (iii) Alternative and Complementary Medicine, and (iv) Genocide at my Academia page. 

        

• Åhrén, Mattias. Indigenous Peoples’ Status in the International Legal System. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016.
• Allen, Stephen and Alexandra Xanthaki, eds. Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2011.
• Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
• Balick, Michael J. and Paul Allan Cox. Plants, People, and Culture: The Science of Ethnobotany. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, 2^nd, 2021.
• Barelli, Mauro. Seeking Justice in International Law: The Significance and Implications of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. New York: Routledge, 2016.
• Bisaz, Corsin. The Concept of Group Rights in International Law: Groups as Contested Right Holders, Subjects and Legal Persons. Leiden: Martinus Nijhoff, 2012.
• Buchanan, Allen. Justice, Legitimacy, and Self-Determination: Moral Foundations for International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Curci, Jonathan. The Protection of Biodiversity and Traditional Knowledge in International Law of Intellectual Property. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• Gilbert, Jérémie. Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights under International Law: From Victims to Actors. Leiden: Brill|Nijhoff, 2^nd, 2016.
• González, Roberto J. Zapotec Science: Farming and Food in the Northern Sierra of Oaxaca. Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, 2001.
• Hohmann, Jessie and Marc Weller, eds. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Commentary. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2018.
• Keal, Paul. European Conquest and the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: The Moral Backwardness of International Society. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2003.
• Kornfeld, Itzchak. Mega-Dams and Indigenous Human Rights. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2020.
• Mgbeoji, Ikechi. Global Biopiracy: Patents, Plants, and Indigenous Knowledge. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2006.
• Niezen, Ronald. The Origins of Indigenism: Human Rights and the Politics of Identity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2003.
• Novic, Elisa. The Concept of Cultural Genocide: An International Law Perspective. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2016.
• Posey, Darrell A. and Graham Dutfield. Beyond Intellectual Property: Toward Traditional Resource Rights for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities. Ottawa, ON: International Development Research Centre, 1996.
• Rombouts, S.J. Having a Say: Indigenous Peoples, International Law and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Oisterwijk, Netherlands: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2014.
• Saul, Ben. Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights: International and Regional Jurisprudence. Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing, 2016.
• Warren, D. Michael, L. Jan Slikkerveer, and David Brokensha, eds. The Cultural Dimension of Development: Indigenous Knowledge Systems. London: Intermediate Technology Publications, 1999.
• Watson, Irene. Aboriginal Peoples, Colonialism and International Law: Raw Law. New York: Routledge, 2015.
• Young, Stephen. Indigenous Peoples, Consent and Rights: Troubling Subjects. New York: Routledge, 2020.

The above is also available for viewing or download here.