Indigenous Rights

At one time, all human cultures were indigenous. But now that civilization has taken over the world, there are very few indigenous cultures left. Those that are left, such as Native Americans, Australian Aborigines, and African Bushmen, are severely threatened. It's absolutely imparitive that we end the destruction of these cultures. For one thing, they are immensly important to understanding anthropology and human history. Without living cultures aside from our own, the only way to learn about our past is through archeological remains. Second of all, these cultures live in balance with their environments. We need to understand the cultural traits that preserve this balance so that we can learn to live with the environment. Thirdly, our world has become too homogenous as it is. We have lost hundreds of languages in the last century alone. A world that has only one culture, with one language, one style of art, one type of music, one religion, and only one perspective, would be a truly sad (and doomed) world to live in. We can't let this happen.

We have to give indigenous cultures their traditional lands. We have to protect those lands from exploitation by oil companies or other groups. We have to allow them to teach their culture to their children. We have to allow them self-determination. We have to stop forcing them to assimalate into our culture.

related rants: The New Tribal Revolution, The Environment

links:
Native American Rights Fund
Cultural Survival
Debwengidinook
White Earth Land Recovery Project
Indigenous People's Council on Biocolonialism
Cross-Cultural Solutions
Native Planet
Society for Threatened Peoples
Survival International
International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs
Indigenous Environmental Network
Rainforest Action Network
Amazon Watch
Action for Aboriginal Rights
Indigenous Studies Virtual Library

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