Indigenous Peoples

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p. 2 of 8 BACK | NEXT Introduction Definition of Indigenous People Indigenous Peoples and Development Laws and Conventions Affecting Indigenous Peoples Policy Objectives, Processes and, Approaches Organizational Implications and Resource Requirements Policy on Indigenous Peoples Key Elements in an Indigenous Peoples Development Plan

Policy on Indigenous Peoples

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Definition of Indigenous People

Developing a single, specific definition or identification for indigenous peoples would be difficult. Within the Asian and Pacific Region, individual indigenous peoples communities reflect tremendous diversity in their cultures, histories and current circumstances. Country by country, the relationships between indigenous peoples and dominant or mainstream groups of society vary.

From the perspective of developing a working definition of indigenous peoples for use in Bank operations, several aspects must be considered. A starting point would be to define indigenous peoples on the basis of characteristics they display. Two significant characteristics would be (i) descent from population groups present in a given area, most often before modern states or territories were created and before modern borders were defined, and (ii) maintenance of cultural and social identities, and social, economic, cultural, and political institutions separate from mainstream or dominant societies and cultures. In some cases, over recent centuries, tribal groups or cultural minorities have migrated into areas to which they are not indigenous, but have established a presence and continue to maintain a definite and separate social and cultural identity and related social institutions. In such cases, the second identifying characteristic would carry greater weight.

Additional characteristics often ascribed to indigenous peoples include (i) self-identification and identification by others as being part of a distinct indigenous cultural group, and the display of desire to preserve that cultural identity, (ii) a linguistic identity different from that of the dominant society, (iii) social, cultural, economic, and political traditions and institutions distinct from the dominant culture, (iv) economic systems oriented more toward traditional systems of production than mainstream systems, and (v) unique ties and attachments to traditional habitats and ancestral territories and natural resources in these habitats and territories.

Indigenous peoples also are described with reference to their ways of life. In many cases, indigenous peoples live in separated communities or cultural or ethnic groupings. Such communities and groupings often are located in areas geographically distant from urban centers and often function at the periphery of the political, social, cultural, and economic systems of the dominant or mainstream society. At the same time, however, it is not unusual to find indigenous peoples communities on the fringes of urban areas, comprising indigenous peoples who have migrated but remain distinct from the mainstream. Indigenous peoples communities in a given country can reflect varying degrees of acculturation and integration into the dominant or mainstream society.

In specific development interventions supported by the Bank, the national legislation of the country in which the development intervention is taking place provides a basis for defining indigenous peoples. This includes constitutional, statutory, and customary law, as well as international law, including any international conventions to which the country is a party. It would be necessary that other country-specific considerations be taken into account.

As a working definition to be employed in the Bank's operations as they affect indigenous peoples, indigenous peoples should be regarded as those with a social or cultural identity distinct from the dominant or mainstream society, which makes them vulnerable to being disadvantaged in the processes of development. Determination of a distinct identity for indigenous peoples would be based in the requirements of applicable national law and the applicability of characteristics described in paras. 8-11 above. The application of any definition of indigenous peoples should work to differentiate between indigenous peoples and other cultural and ethnic minorities for which indigenous status is not an issue; the broader protection of vulnerable groups is an issue addressed in other policies and practices of the Bank.

Case-specific identification of indigenous peoples affected by Bank operations and approaches to addressing specific indigenous peoples' concerns would be addressed in the process of initial social assessment and the preparation of an indigenous peoples plan (see paras. 34-40 and the Appendix).

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