International framework through ILO and U.N. Conventions recognises rights of indigenous and tribal communities to ownership, control and management of land and resources

Tribal and indigenous communities across the world have been asserting their rights to the mineral wealth often found under the land they own or possess or have traditional rights to. They have been historically denied even a share of that huge wealth, leave alone legal rights of ownership. Under the contemporary deregulated neo-liberal policy framework, … Read more

eJournal | “Environmental groups and movements have been at the forefront of efforts to democratize state institutions”

[…] In India, as elsewhere, colonialism is “first, foremost and always” about land. As in North America and Africa, the policing of reserve forests has often resulted in what amounts to ethnic cleansing, with Indigenous peoples being evicted from their homelands for the benefit of the tourism industry and its urban, middle-class clients. Displaced Adivasis … Read more

Audio | “We raise the grandkids”: The Braveheart Women’s Society – South Dakota (USA)

[24:50] We are a colonized people. But there’s always the extended family. […] In our world either the aunty takes them or it’s the grandmother. We raise the grandkids. | Download and listen as podcast (27:25) >> Subscribe to the podcast: iTunes | Spotify | RSS The Braveheart Women’s Society, a group of Yankton Sioux … Read more

Ensuring sustainable livelihoods, equity and well-being – Forest Peoples Programme

Around 300 million people, made up of local communities and indigenous peoples, traditionally live in forests and primarily depend on them for their livelihoods Customary lands of indigenous peoples and local communities encompass 65% of the world’s land area, and 80% of the global biodiversity Protecting forests is often a deadly risk for indigenous peoples … Read more

“I feel that you are a part of me and I will never forget you”: Tribal elder in a travel account by historian Runoko Rashidi – Looking at India through African Eyes

As I am now in the process of completing the finishing touches on a French language collection of my essays on the African presence in Asia I find myself reviewing and evaluating the body of work that I have been compiling on the subject over the past quarter century. During this process I realize that … Read more