Human Rights and Indigenous People

Article 2
Article 2 design © Octavio Roth


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Who are the world's indigenous peoples?

Indigenous people are called "first peoples", tribal peoples, aboriginals and autochthons. They have a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories. They consider themselves distinct from other sectors of society now prevailing in those territorities. There are at least 5,000 indigenous groups made up of 300 million people, that live in more than 70 countries on five continents.

The majority of indigenous people, more than 150 million, live in Asia.


A Kirghiz family at the foot of the Kongur mountains in Zinjiang, China. The Kirghiz are a Mongol people living in central Asia.
(UN Photo # 159635C)






A Kirghiz family in front of their yurt in the Tchonkymyn Valley in the Tien Shan Mountains.
(UN Photo # 159636C)







A young boy from the Uygur ethnic group selling wool at the Kashgar bazaar in Zinjiang, China.
(UN Photo # 159636C)



Indigenous people make up well over half of the populations of Guatemala and Peru.





A Cakchiquel family in the hamlet of Patzutzun, Guatemala.
(UN Photo # 187129C)



About 2.5 million indigenous people live in North America.





A member of the Haisla Kitimaat Nation, one of several maritime indigenous nations that live along the Pacific Rim.
(UN Photo # 186606C)






A Heiltsuk girl holding one of the paddles of the "Glwa", the Heiltsuk canoe. The Heiltsuk Nation live along the British Columbia coast of Canada.
(UN Photo # 186609C)








(UN Photos top left: # 186593C, top right: #186617C, bottom left: #186592C, and bottom right: #186596C)





A young boy, a member of the indigenous Dogon tribe in Mali, is shown in his village habitat.
(UN Photo # 159636C)






The United Nations has increasingly taken up the cause of indigenous people, who are considered among the world's most disadvantaged groups. Excluded from the decision-making process, many Indigenous people have been marginalized, exploited, assimilated and subjected to repression, torture and murder when they speak out in defence of their rights. Fearing persecution, they often become refugees or they try to mask their identity, abandoning their languages and traditional customs and clothing.



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