Carina Kentish

Candidate Number:

0015

Centre Number:

US619

John Overton High School

April 2016

Question:

To what extent does the world take care of their indigenous peoples?

Word Count:

1,990
 To what extent does the world take care of their indigenous peoples?

Throughout the past century, especially the most recent decades, the treatment and rights

of indigenous peoples have been severely compromised and abused, bringing these matters to

light among common people. Indigenous peoples are often denied their protections and human

rights. Historically speaking, these populations were never treated fairly, persecuted and virtually

wiped out. Many of these people are often seen as savages; this representation of native peoples

is archaic and is a poor representation of who they are in modern society. Chilean

environmentalist, Juan Pablo Orrego, said, My experience in living and working with

indigenous people has given me the hope that I have they have taught me concretely that

humans have the capacity to be marvelous, and not destructive. as quoted in The Power of Self:

Reclaiming the I Am. Indigenous people are a vital part of our human existence; they prove

that we can live differently. These people are entitled to the basic human rights that mass

populations are provided. Although, much has changed in favor of these people, are their

countries addressing their needs to a satisfactory and human degree?

What is an indigenous person? The answer to this is, in fact, unclear. There is so much

variation among the indigenous populations of the world that the United Nations has not stated

an official definition of indigenous [to be] adopted (World Health Organization) due to this

very reason of inexpungable diversity. However, there are key characteristics that native peoples

tend to share and that are very distinctive in comparison to most modern persons. The lives of

indigenous peoples are immediately distinguishable from others with their reliance on the land in

which they live. Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos of the World Bank Group states, the

land on which they live and the natural resources on which they depend are inextricably linked to

their identities and cultures. In addition to their reliance on land, these people typically speak a
language and maintain cultural practices and beliefs that are unique to their own population

(World Health Organization). In addition, according to the World Health Organization, these

peoples preserve unique social, economic, and/or political systems, as well as forming a minority

group in society and demonstrate historical continuity with pre-colonial or pre-settler societies.

Being these peoples dependence on their land is vital to their way of life, as well as their

practices being particularly unique in comparison to those in the majority of the nations they

belong to, these populations are some of the most vulnerable people groups on earth. Despite the

fact many might believe that it is impossible for a people or cultural group to go extinct, those

who think such are wrong. For example, in India the Great Andamanese tribes, approximately

ten tribes, are almost extinct, along with one of their languages known as Bo (Singh). The last

person who spoke Bo died in January of 2010. In addition to this, CNN (Singh) also states that,

out of the ten Great Andamanese tribes, there are approximately only 52 remaining people. Being

said, extinction is the largest problem that indigenous persons have to face, unlike their more

dominant counterparts. There are very specific causes that cause this to eventually happen,

namely: poverty, education inequality, their land and environment, and everyday discrimination.

These are the key factors to the extermination of indigenous populations.

These are the oldest cultures of the world, yet, there are the most poverty stricken. In the

United States, American Indians have the highest poverty rate out of any other ethnic group in

the country. According to the United States Census (FFF: American Indian and Alaska Native

Heritage Month) of 2014, there are 5.2 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives, consisting

of 566 tribes. Also stated in the Census, $36,252 is the median household income of single-race

American Indians and Alaska Natives households in 2013. Comparatively, the median

household income in the United States is $52,176. This leaves almost 30% of American Indians
in poverty (Census). Not only is this a problem in America, but it provides itself as a prominent

issue in Central American countries as well. Although, as it is well known, the poverty rates are

far higher in Central America than in more developed nations like the United States, United

Kingdom and majority of Western Europe. Despite this knowledge, the rates of poverty for

indigenous populations are catastrophically high. As cited in Education and Inequality in Latin

America, approximately half of the populations of Bolivia and Guatemala are in poverty.

Among these nations populations of indigenous peoples almost seventy-five percent are living

in poverty. According to Rural Poverty Portals article Statistics and Key Facts about

Indigenous Peoples, the worlds indigenous populations account for less than 5% of the global

population, [yet] they comprise about 15% of all the poor people in the world. Why is this?

There are many reasons that contribute to this. In the 2014 United States Census, some of

these factors are addressed for the American Indians. Largely, education and employment

contributed a great deal to the problem at hand. As stated in the Census, only 13.5% of Americas

population of Indians and Alaskan Natives (ages 25 and older) have received a bachelors,

graduate, or professional degree in 2013. As for Latin America, the education gap is just as

devastating. According to World Fund, the dropout rate in both Brazil and Mexico are startlingly

high. As cited, 92% of Latin American children begin primary school, but only 41% of

Brazilians and 35% of Mexicans graduate from secondary school. With these statistics, that

means that in Brazil 59% and in Mexico 65% drop out of school and do not pursue education

after an elementary level as the countries as a whole. How does this compare to indigenous

people though?

According to Gillette Hall and Harry Anthony Patrinos from the World Bank, as cited in

Finance and Development, poverty is directly related to education, making it one of the main
factors. Education inequalities are very prominent among indigenous populations. The amount

of years that indigenous children have in Central America is lower than their non-indigenous

counterparts. Again, using Bolivia and Guatemala as an example, these people populations

exhibit some of the most poverty for native peoples in Central America and they also have fewer

years spent in schooling. Indigenous children in Guatemala only have approximately three years

worth of schooling in comparison to their non-indigenous counterparts who have obtained at

least six years of schooling. Bolivia as well had an imbalance in indigenous childrens amount of

schooling, six years for indigenous and ten years for their counterparts (Finance and

Development). Although the education gap has been improving over the past few decades, there

is still a significant imbalance with the amount of education and the earnings of indigenous

peoples. It is supposed that the quality of education indigenous populations receive is less

adequate than those of non-indigenous and non-native backgrounds. Cited in Finance and

Development, standardized testing has revealed this. Standardized tests have shown that on both

reading and math tests these indigenous students have received scores 7 to 27% lower.

The perception of the world can make an intense impact on those who fall under its lens.

Racism is an extreme concern for indigenous persons, leading to some of the inequality they

face, especially for those who fall under New World colonization are the ones who suffer the

worst from treatment. Two people groups that are especially targeted are American Indians and

the Aborigines of Australia. American Indians are often not seen as or thought of as modern

people in our society. For centuries they lived peacefully and comfortably in what is today

America, however, that changed once white settlers, or really, once Columbus, came to their

land. Once these European migrants came to their land, these peoples homes were invaded and

they were ultimately pushed out attributed to several reasons. Some including: massive Indian
Wars, various mass exoduses and even massacres to ensure their removal in the case of American

Indians. In one case, with the Cherokee Indians from the South-eastern region of the U.S., were

forced out in a mass exodus known as the Trail of Tears. According to PBSs article Indian

Removal, during the Trail of Tears approximately 4,000 men, women, and children died of cold,

hunger, and disease in their forced migration of 1838 by Andrew Jackson. This event occurred

after Cherokee demands to void the Treaty of New Echota, a removal agreement, after small

fraction of the nation signed the treaty were ignored by the United States Supreme Court. With

this, only 2,000 migrated, leaving 16,000 remaining on their land. The remaining Cherokee were

forced out with military force.

Equally as horrible treatment was ensued on the Aborigines. There were countless times

throughout Australian history that the Aborigines had to endure massive genocides. In an

Aboriginal History Timeline (1770-1899) written by Jens Korff it accounts on multiple

hostilities between the Aborigines and colonists. In 1816 on May fourth Governor Macquarie

sets laws for controlling and regulating the movements of the Aboriginal peoples. In addition in

1837 a massacre occur[ed] at Gravesend, New South Wales with more than 200 killed. (Korff).

Various small massacres consistently happened throughout Australian history. Much

mistreatment is happening still today.

Lastly, the thievery of indigenous land plays a major role and contribution to the

mistreatment and extermination of indigenous populations. In the United States there has been

some done to enforce that Native Americans receive the land which belonged to their ancestors,

such as the Indian Reorganization Act, originally enforced in 1934 by President Franklin Delano

Roosevelt. This Act was created to attempt to restore ownership to tribal lands and recognize

tribal constitutions and government. Despite the good that this act did for the American Indians
at the time, who were living in horrifically terrible conditions (poverty, poor living conditions,

disease and inadequate health care, for example), this was only set in place after the erosion in

possession of their land due to the General Allotment Act, also known as the Dawes Act of 1887.

Despite the efforts, modern Native Americans are reduced to having ownership over small

reserves and having a lack of historical ancient grounds. This applies to the Sami people of

Northern parts of Sweden, Norway, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula (United Nations) as well.

Although, their situation tends to be slightly better than most other indigenous peoples, their land

is still in danger. For centuries the Sami tribes have herded reindeer. This has sculpted their

economy, culture, and identities. According to an article written by Alec Forss, the homelands of

this community is in danger of miners, such a mine lies on important ground for the Samis

reindeer and would destroy much of their land with the required infrastructure for creating an

iron mine in addition to the migration pattern. Such changes to the community would be

devastating.

In the current lives of modern indigenous people these populations suffer from extreme

poverty, huge education inequalities, and are subjected to harsh racism and the theft of land. So,

with all these things happening in our modern dispensation, is the government of these peoples

taking adequate care of their needs? The answer frankly, despite the efforts to make their lives

more comfortable by providing to their needs, is no. Indigenous people get pushed out of their

lands today by corporations and drug cartels, namely because their government is not providing

equal protection for these populations as the whole nation. Even after centuries of abuse,

mistreatment is still occurring. Racist crime is inflicted on these populations and the rest of the

nations integration of them is poor, secluding them to desolate and remote locations as

significant ancient tribal lands have not been returned to indigenous peoples. Education is not
 enforced as it is for other populations in their nations, leaving them uneducated and susceptible

to poverty even though they are the people who built up the world. Ultimately, the government

has yet to be able to prevent the extermination of native tribes, if anything; they are contributing

more to than preventing the extermination.

Citations

"Education and Inequality in Latin America." Education Gap. World Fund, n.d. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
FFF: American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2014. FFF: American Indian

and Alaska Native Heritage Month: November 2014. United States Census, 12 Nov. 2014. Web.

05 Apr. 2016.

Forss, Alec. "A New Era of Exploitation? Mining Sami Lands in Sweden." Cultural Survival. N.p., 09

Dec. 2015. Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

Hall, Gillette, and Harry Anthony Patrinos. "Finance and Development." Latin America's Indigenous

Peoples. International Monetary Fund, n.d. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Hall, Gillette, and Anthony Patrinos. "Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Human Development in Latin

America: Default Book Series." Indigenous Peoples, Poverty and Human Development in Latin

America: Default Book Series. World Bank Group, Dec. 2004. Web. Feb. 2016.

Health of Indigenous Peoples. World Health Organization. WHO, Oct. 2007. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Indigenous Peoples Still Among Poorest in World but Progress Reported in Some Countries. World

Bank. N.p., 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

"Indian Removal." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.

Key Concepts. Indigenous Peoples. The World Bank, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.

Korff, Jens. "Aboriginal History Timeline (1770 - 1899)." Creative Spirits. Creative Spirits, n.d. Web. 20

Apr. 2016.

Millen, Lenora. "Awareness among the Indigenous." The Power of Self: Reclaiming the "I Am" N.p.:

AuthorHouse, 2012. N. pag. Print.

Resources. Indigenous Peoples. N.p., 26 Apr. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2016.

Resources For. Latin America and Caribbean. The World Bank, n.d. Web. 06 Apr. 2016

Singh, Harmeet Shah. Ancient Tribe Becomes Extinct as Last Member Dies. CNN. Cable News

Network, 05 Feb. 2010. Web. 30 Mar. 2016

"Statistics and Key Facts about Indigenous Peoples." Rural Poverty Portal. IFAD, n.d. Web. 26 Feb.

2016.

UN. "The Sami of Northern Europe One People, Four Countries." RSS. United Nations, 2016. Web. 26

Feb. 2016.