August 9, 2021 marked the anniversary of World Indigenous Peoples’ Day, a celebration held in honor of the nearly 476 million indigenous people living in 90 countries across the world, accounting for 6.2 percent of the world’s total population. Indigenous people, also known as native people or aboriginals, are culturally distinct ethnic groups who are native to a place that was once colonized and settled by another ethnic group. On December 23, 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided, in Resolution 49/214, that World Indigenous Peoples’ Day would be observed every year on August 9. To celebrate, people around the world are encouraged to spread the UN’s message on the protection and promotion of the rights of indigenous people.
The theme for this year’s celebration is “Leaving no one behind: Indigenous peoples and the call for a new social contract”. A social contract is an unwritten agreement that societies make to cooperate for social and economic benefits. People around the world, the United Nations says, must raise their voice and demand indigenous peoples’ inclusion, participation and approval in the constitution of a system with social and economic benefits for all. The new social contract must be based on genuine participation and partnership that fosters equal opportunities and respects the rights, dignity and freedoms of everyone.
“Solutions will not be found while indigenous people are treated as victims for whom someone else must find solutions.” – Malcolm Fraser
- It is estimated that indigenous people are nearly three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than their non-indigenous counterparts. Indigenous people account for 15% of the world’s extremely poor.
- 47% of indigenous people who are employed have no formal education compared to 17% of non-indigenous people.
- There are more than 5,000 indigenous communities in the world, speaking around 4,000 different languages.
The COVID-19 pandemic further exposed many existing inequalities. Populations across the world that were already suffering from poverty, illness, discrimination or financial insecurity were even more negatively impacted by the onslaught of the virus. For the many indigenous peoples impacted by COVID-19, plans to build back better and rethink social contracts must include the collective and individual rights of indigenous peoples recognized by the United Nations.
“We are not myths of the past, ruins in the jungle, or zoos. We are people and we want to be respected, not to be victims of intolerance and racism.” – Rigoberta Menchu
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Suggested Readings:
As Long as Grass Grows: The Indigenous Fight for Environmental Justice, from Colonization to Standing Rock by Dina Gilio-Whitaker
The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present by David Treuer
Our History Is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes
Dark. Sweet. New & Selected Poems by Linda Hogan
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