What makes a person an indigenous person?

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“In 1492 Columbus sailed the blue sea.”

You may have heard of it at school. The rhyme makes it easy to remember that 1492 was the year Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer of his. Sailing from Spain They landed on a series of islands near modern-day Florida called the “West Indies.”

Europeans called the vast land masses now known as North and South America the “New World.” Until the late 15th century, no one knew of its existence east of the Atlantic. Hundreds of years ago, a few Viking explorers reached the Americas. little known about their visit.

From a European standpoint, Columbus discovered something new. But for the millions of natives or indigenous people who already lived there, The ‘New World’ Was Nothing New.

lead to place

In its most basic terms, whether an individual or group of people is indigenous is where their ancestors lived and how long they lived there.

People are considered indigenous to a particular place when their ancestors have existed and thrived in that place since time immemorial.

Indigenous peoples are the original inhabitants of a particular region. Their villages and fiefdoms were the first to be established in a particular place and existed long before there was a modern city, state, or country.

cultural identity

I have a quote 476 million indigenous peoples About 5,000 indigenous groups are spread across the world. They live almost everywhere on Earth, including the frozen Arctic. Northern Canada When Alaska, plains of americamountains and rainforests latin america, pacific islandsand Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, new zealand Anywhere people live, including major cities.

Each of these unique groups has deep historical ties to specific regions of the world. And their experiences have produced many unique cultures.

Where you live, especially if your family has lived there for centuries, can have a huge impact on the way you live. It shapes the food you eat, how you cook it, and who you worship in your religion.

For example, my father’s Aboriginal ancestry was Comanche, kiowa When cherokee tribe. The Comanche have traveled many times across vast tracts of land, from northern Canada to the jungles of South America.

They have learned to track the migration of buffalo, which was their main food source. And they have developed technology that facilitates movement. Teepee Easy to set up, disassemble and transport.

My mother was raised in an indigenous community known as Taos PuebloThe Taos Pueblo people lived year-round in the same area of ​​northern New Mexico with its vast mountains and flowing rivers. The people of Taos Pueblo didn’t have to move much, so they built big buildings. Adobeor burned mud bricks, which were several stories high and impassable.

Being indigenous is a matter of ancestry and place, but different indigenous groups have their own cultures, traditions, languages ​​and religions. These today can vary from country to country, state to state, and even city to city.

political identity

Being indigenous today does not necessarily mean that your ancestors lived in the same place where you live today. separated from their traditional homeland and forced to live elsewhere.

Most Indigenous groups that were displaced did not want to leave.But settlers from other places saw the lands and resources inhabited by indigenous peoples and wanted them for their own country. military power To get the indigenous people out of their homes.

Many of these groups exist today as a form of government known as tribes or indigenous peoples.there is at least 574 tribes in the United States aloneLike other governments, tribal governments make laws on how to coexist peacefully, determine what it means to be a good citizen, and plan for the future.

Together these laws form a political community. This is an understanding of how all members of Indigenous Peoples agree to live and treat each other as members of the same Indigenous Community.

Being an indigenous people has always been closely tied to place, but today it is also a matter of cultural and political identity.

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Author: Torivio Fodder – Indigenous Governance Program Manager and Professor of Practice, University of Arizona