Deusdedit Ruhangariyo
Special to ICT
Highs and lows: The year brought a wave of highs and lows for Indigenous people around the globe on issues of land, human rights, climate and the environment, education, criminal justice and health.
Recent victories
In Brazil, a majority of the country’s Supreme Court delivered an historic decision in September, rejecting an attempt to curtail the rights of Native peoples concerning protected reservations on their ancestral lands, Voice of America reported. The 9-2 ruling marks a significant triumph for Indigenous activists and advocates for climate action, VOA reported.
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In Ecuador, after more than 80 years of displacement because of war, the Siekopai nation, an Indigenous community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, secured legal victory in a court battle to reclaim ownership of their ancestral homelands. An Ecuadorian appeals court, in a ruling shared with CNN by the nonprofit organization Amazon Frontline, upheld the Siekopai nation’s claim to Pë’këya, a biodiverse region situated in northeast Ecuador near the Peruvian border. The Siekopai people were originally displaced during the 1940s Peru-Ecuador war.
In Malaysia, Indigenous activists achieved two significant wins against timber giant Samling in their longstanding efforts to protect forests and territories in Sarawak.
And in Canada, language revitalization got a boost with a decision by the University of Northern British Columbia, which is now offering a groundbreaking bachelor’s degree in Nisga’a language fluency. The program starts in September 2024.
Ongoing struggles
It has not all been cozy this year with the world’s Indigenous peoples, however. Native people continue to struggle with a host of issues that surface in communities around the globe.
Land rights and displacement
In Ethiopia, the designation of Bale Mountains National Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site could lead to the eviction of more than 20,000 people from farming communities on what were once homelands for the Oromo people.
In Canada, federal prosecutors filed charges against numerous Indigenous fishers, setting up a court fight over constitutional and treaty rights for First Nations people that could end up in Canada’s highest court. The move comes just three years after the initiation of a self-regulated lobster fishery by a First Nation in Nova Scotia.
Health issues
A surge in HIV infections among Indigenous people in Manitoba, Canada, is being blamed on “systemic anti-Indigenous racism” in the health care system. In Saskatchewan, another Canadian province, however, disparities prompted the Ahtahkakoop Cree Nation to work on building its own 24-hour urgent care center to offer options to residents.
In Australia, meanwhile, the life expectancy of Indigenous people has increased by about nine years in the last 20 years but still falls short of the wider population. According to the Australian government department of health, Aboriginal communities experience higher rates of chronic diseases and lower life expectancies due to limited access to healthcare services and disparities in health outcomes.
Education
In Canada, many Indigenous children living in remote reserves lack access to quality education facilities, resulting in lower graduation rates and limited prospects for higher education.
In China, authorities banned a book on the early Mongolian people, invoking “historical nihilism” to suppress divergent historical perspectives.
But there were gains in Australia, where the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria and the nonprofit Yalari organization launched a three-year partnership to help support educational opportunities for Indigenous children from regional and remote communities.
Climate change and the environment
A coalition of countries agreed to a five-year plan to disburse $1.7 billion to support the land rights of Indigenous and local communities, but those funds are largely bypassing the very communities they are designed to help. The funding expenditures were detailed in a report released at the United Nations’ recent climate conference, known as COP28, held in Dubai.
Protests emerged throughout the world over various mining projects, which largely targeted Indigenous lands with work that threatened vast environmental damage. In Panama, for example, mass protests erupted against a government deal with Central America’s largest copper mine over concerns about sovereignty, environmental damage, and the impact on the Panama Canal. And in Brazil, more than four years after the rupture of a tailings dam in Brumadinho Valley, Brazil, the Indigenous Pataxó and Pataxó Hã-hã-hãe people still suffer from the lack of secure land, water, and food.
And in the Arctic region, The Christian Science Monior reported how tough it is for Indigenous guardians to preserve their culture in a warming world, highlighting the fact that the harsh realities of climate change are affecting most Indigenous people around the world.
Human rights
Human rights violations continue to be problems throughout the world.
In Japan, more than 150 activists, lawmakers and advocates urged leaders to investigate the Chinese government’s human rights abuses against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang.
The Kenyan government has begun widespread destruction of homes and property of Indigenous Ogiek people living in Mau Forest, despite a 2017 legal victor acknowledging ancestral land rights.
Western Australia’s parliament, however, issued an historic apology and agreed to reimburse Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers who were exploited between 1936 and 1972 under a system that some leaders compared to “slavery.”
Language, culture preservation
Australia, which once boasted more than 300 Indigenous languages, is now facing one of the planet’s most severe rates of language decline. Fewer than 30 Indigenous languages remain as primary tongues today.
In New Zealand, efforts to revitalize the Māori language and culture is an ongoing struggle, as colonization led to a decline in the use of the Māori language and traditional practices.
Access to justice
The arrest of five environmental activists battling water pollution and mining in El Salvador are believed to have been politically motivated, sparking global condemnation amid controversial court proceedings.
The same issues emerged in Norway, where activists protesting against a wind farm that they say obstructs the rights of the Sami people to raise reindeer in central and Arctic Norway were removed from the entrances to two government offices by Norwegian police.
In New Zealand, a study found that incarcerated Māori people are nearly twice as likely to face housing instability when released from prison as non-Māori prisoners. The study calls for officials to provide stable housing for individuals re-entering society.
My final thoughts
As we approach the end of 2023, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each one of you for your unwavering support and engagement with our Indigenous weekly column.
As we welcome the new year, let’s continue our journey together. Let’s strive for greater understanding, respect, and solidarity with Indigenous communities worldwide. Your continued leadership and commitment to this cause can make a world of difference.
I humbly wish you a wonderful holiday season and a year filled with meaningful connections and opportunities to stand with Indigenous Peoples.
Global Indigenous is a weekly news roundup published every Wednesday by ICT (formerly Indian Country Today) with some of the key stories about Indigenous peoples around the world.
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