Indigenous Peoples Module

• Designed for use in world regional geography courses or introductory (human) geography courses
• Aimed primarily at non-indigenous students

Goals

• To get students beyond stereotypical conceptualizations of indigenous peoples (primitive cultures, losers, victims, etc)
• To replace those ideas with an awareness of indigenous peoples in global context
  • Peoples having prior rights to specific lands
  • Dispossessed by colonialism, and/or incorporated into an alien state against their will

Readings and videos

1. UNPFII introductory video http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/multimedia.html
2. Definition of "peoples" http://www.thefreedictionary.com/people
3. Introductory material on IWGIA website http://www.iwgia.org/sw155.asp
4. Additional IWGIA pages on:
   • identification of indigenous peoples
   • land rights
   • self-determination
   • poverty
   • racism
   • sustainable development
   • political participation
   • intellectual property rights
5. A news article which adds health to this list of issues http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5019582.stm
6. Selected introductory editorials from Indigenous World yearbooks (2003 and 2007) http://www.iwgia.org/sw6419.asp
7. International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Article 1 in particular) http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/ccpr.htm
   • Optional: Universal Declaration of Human Rights http://www.unhchr.ch/udhr/lang/eng.htm
8. Leaflet No. 5 from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideIPleaflet5en.pdf
9. About the UN Declaration and events surrounding it
   • News (current and archived) at the IWGIA site http://www.iwgia.org/sw248.asp
   • Commentary on position of main settler states and their allies http://www.unobserver.com/layout5.php?id=3723&blz=1
   • Role of TNCs http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=82333
10. Definition of genocide according to 1948 international law http://www.preventgenocide.org/genocide/officialtext.htm
11. Rabbit-Proof Fence (or other suitable film)

Optional detailed study guide for readings and UN video

Activities to follow readings/videos

Module developed by G R Dobbs, grdobbs@email.unc.edu

Posted 4/17/08