Politics of indigenous development

Indigenous peoples constitute permanent and culturally unique minorities spread throughout the settler states of both North and South, characterized by prior claims to the territory they inhabit and an ongoing experience of colonization (UNDESA 2010a: 6). They do not have a formal political voice within the international state system, and must instead assert jurisdiction against powerful state institutions that have an interest in denying their political existence. This has meant that Indigenous marginalization and poverty have generally been classified as domestic social policy problems of settler states and neglected by the global community. However, over the past 40 years, Indigenous transnational activism has led to greater visibility of their claims. Recent milestones include the first meeting of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII, in 2002) and the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007). This global recognition makes it more diff...