Indigenous Territory

The United Nations (UN) uses various criteria to identify Indigenous people around the world. These include historical continuity, cultural difference, the principle of non-domination and self-identification. Here is a brief description of these criteria.

• Self-identification means that a person self-identifies as an Indigenous person. This person must also be recognized by an Indigenous group as a member.

• Indigenous people feel a cultural difference and form a non-dominant group in society. They wish to preserve their culture, their traditions as well as distinct social and political organization.

• An Indigenous population is defined by the fact that it was present on a given territory before its colonization. This is referred to as historical continuity.

• The principle of non-dominance refers to the fact that Indigenous peoples form distinct groups in society.

There are more than 476 million Indigenous persons in the world^[1].

• Indigenous populations represent 6.2% of the world’s total population.

• Communities are present in 90 countries.

• There are more than 5000 distinct Indigenous groups.

• Of the 7000 languages spoken in the world, 4000 are Indigenous languages.

• 70% of Indigenous people live in Asia^[2].

Indigenous people around the world experience discrimination and are often marginalized, leading to:

• Communities being forced to leave their ancestral lands

• Communities not having access to essential services (drinking water, electricity, etc.)

• Groups being discouraged or sometimes prohibited from expressing their culture

• Individuals being the victims of physical attacks

Indigenous peoples represent 15% of people living in extreme poverty worldwide. The life expectancy of Indigenous peoples is on average 20 years lower than that of the rest of the population overall^[3].

As part of recognizing these challenges, the UN decided to create the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in September 2007 by 143 countries out of 192. Although Canada did not support the Declaration initially, it changed its stance in 2010.

Indigenous territory is a region inhabited by an Indigenous people. This territory may or may not be recognized by the government of the country where it is located. There are Indigenous peoples who have successfully claimed autonomy over their territory and others who are still fighting for autonomy.

In general, Indigenous peoples have similar claims:

• To have their ancestral rights recognized

• To obtain financial compensation for the loss of their ancestral lands

• To be autonomous on their territory

• To have better access to social services

In addition to these claims, different Indigenous peoples in the world have their own specific claims.

This unit focuses on Indigenous territories in Canada and Quebec. To find out more about these territories, check out the following case studies.

To access the rest of the unit, you can consult the following concept sheets.