PLIGHT OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN CONTEMPORARY TIMES

Indigenous people, the aboriginals, or the original inhabitants, known by different terminologies but bounded by their culture and love for their ancestry's land. Indigenous people are culturally distinct societies and communities.

There are approximately 476 million Indigenous Peoples worldwide, spreading across 90 countries, making up over 6 percent of the global population. Indigenous people are known for their close affinity with nature and the environment. As the custodians of the old culture and traditions, they form one of the biggest contributors to the world's diversity, and their respect for nature commands admiration.

Each year, the UN celebrates 9th August as World's Indigenous Peoples day to raise awareness and to give greater voice to the rights and issues faced by the indigenous community.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECT

They are around 6 percent of the global population, however, they account for approximately 15% of the world’s extreme poor, which affects other social parameters, thereby amounting to a low ranking in the human well- being index. One of the key factors behind this marginalization is the inability or the lack of access to quality education. For decades, the indigenous people have been a victim of systematic discriminatory education policies - policies which were unable to complement their cultural and social understandings. The ties of the identity of indigenous people are closely linked to their land. Most of the land of the indigenous people is rich in resources and thus, there is a constant threat and competition for control, both by the government and private players. In many countries, more than 50% of indigenous people live in cities, this transition from traditional lands to urban areas creates problems in accessing educational and employment opportunities. Hence, losing land is not only about the loss of identity, but at the same time, the indigenous people are put in a position of economic disadvantage too. Hence the combined discrimination both in education and in the economic sphere results in human rights violation of the indigenous people and pushes them to the edge of vulnerability and marginalization and this cycle goes about causing a generational transmission of poverty, social underdevelopment, and abuse of rights.

ENVIRONMENT AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLE

Indigenous People live in regions that are being severely exposed to threatening environmental damaging human activities and consequently, they have been impacted by the dangerous and profit-oriented systems. In recent years, indigenous people have become disproportionately vulnerable to the impacts of climate change since they often live in environmentally sensitive ecosystems – such as the Arctic region, tropical forests, grasslands, mountains, or deserts – and frequently depend on surrounding biodiversity for subsistence as well as cultural survival.

Indigenous people protect 80% of global biodiversity. Examples of which are seen in the rich ecosystem and diversity of the  Amazon, where the indigenous people have shown the way to live in harmony with the environment. Similarly, in the case of Ecuador, the indigenous Sápara people have learned to live in their traditional territory according to climate change adaptation. The role of indigenous people in the conservation of biodiversity is recognised, however, the growing external threats along with loss of biodiversity and climate change remain.

HEALTH SECTOR 

The health conditions of indigenous people are very crucial due to the poor health care services present for them. Malnutrition is the biggest cause behind the death of community members particularly women and children. Many indigenous children still suffer from malnourishment, anemia, and malaria due to the absence of clean drinking water, proper sanitation, nutrient food, proper housing etc. Along with this, these people also suffer from cancer, sexually transmitted diseases, poor mental health,  infection, kidney problems, etc. 

Some of the reasons behind the presence of critical health situations of indigenous people are - 

DEPRIVATION- Indigenous communities have been practicing herbal medicine and naturopathy for a long time, but presently, these things are taken over by the rich urban societies as they are recognised by the rich sectors as the best treatment option. Hence, indigenous people have been systematically restricted from natural resources, as they have been authorised by the commercial sectors.

LACK OF AWARENESS- It is observed that indigenous people do not have an awareness of multiple diseases through which they suffer. For example, they do not have awareness about what precautions or steps should be taken, in order to prevent diseases like malaria, malnourishment, STDs etc. 

DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH SERVICES:

Discrimination in health services not only affects health but it also affects overall well being of an individual. Indigenous people face different forms of discrimination in health sector as well, for example, the 2008 case of  Brian Sinclair, who died in an  Emergency Room.This case demonstrated the significant consequences of racism and stereotyping on the health outcomes of Indigenous people. Like this there are plenty of other cases which have represented that indigenous people are not given attention and mostly they are mistreated by the service providers. 

SOURCE:- UNSPLASH BY:- JUSTIN PORTER

INDIGENOUS PEOPLE AND COVID-19

In the current pandemic situation, indigenous peoples’ traditional lifestyles can pose a threat in preventing the spread of the virus, because most indigenous communities regularly organize large traditional gatherings to mark special events e.g. harvests, coming of age ceremonies, etc. Though they have serious threats from the virus, information regarding the virus is not present in the indigenous languages. Besides this, health policies that are created for handling this pandemic reflect the non-inclusion of indigenous people. Along with this, no special policies have been recognised for the protection of indigenous people from this virus. 

Hence, in order to bridge the gaps and discrimination boundaries prevalent in the health sector, it will not only require a significant shift in the attitudes, knowledge, and skills of health care professionals, but also the establishment of accountabilities for health care organizations to ensure equitable health services for Indigenous peoples.

STATUS OF INDIGENOUS WOMEN

Indigenous women experience several forms of discrimination, for example, they lack access to education, healthcare facilities and ancestral land. They experience high rates of poverty and violence like domestic violence, sexual abuse, etc. 

Women of this community suffer from high maternal mortality rates, teenage pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, etc. Indigenous women are less likely to use healthcare facilities during their pregnancy due to discrimination and mistreatment. This also results in “death”  during childbirth. According to reports, in Panama and Russia, Indigenous women are about six times more likely to die in childbirth than women from the non-Indigenous population. 

Many rights of indigenous women have been violated for a  long period of time. They face domestic violence in both “in and out” of the house, in some countries, they have been sterilized without even consideration of their opinion or choice. Hence, indigenous women experience multiple challenges, in the pursuit of exercising their human rights. These women have been actively participating in several programs and movements to preserve their rights and are working actively to develop a hemisphere where these people would be welcomed respectfully.

CONCLUSION

Hence, indigenous people experience discrimination on all grounds such as health, education, natural resources, social, economic, political, cultural, etc. Several organisations in the world are working for the upliftment of indigenous people. They have been conducting several programs, movements for the welfare of the indigenous community, but the indigenous people are still most susceptible to discrimination and human rights violations.

In order to uplift the status of indigenous people, governments are required to provide political status to the indigenous people which will not only help in the upliftment of the situation of the indigenous community in the society, but it will also give the platform where they can be easily involved during the process of formulation of policies. This will result in the implementation of policies which will also include the concerns of the indigenous community and only then a wholesome development could be realised which takes into account the holistic concerns of all societies and communities and is inconsistent with the sustainable development goals which are of prime importance for a sustainable future.

REFERENCES :

UN.org.

Weforum.org

World bank.org

National geographic.com

Amnesty.org.

Firstpeoples.org

Culturalsurvival.org

WRITTEN BY KASHISH AND JAHNAVI CHOURASIA