Teaching & Learning Guide for: A Review of the Study of the Political Status of Indigenous Peoples in the Global Context
Authors: Smith Keri E. Iyall 
Published: February 2009

Author's introduction

Indigenous peoples are racialized, but this is not the only defining element of their identity. The sociological study of indigenous peoples informs political sociology, as indigenous peoples are a type of non‐state actor with a distinct perspective on the state and international governing organizations. The colonial power structure forced indigenous peoples to the margins of their homes and territories, which then changed rapidly around them without consideration of their voices. Today, indigenous peoples are recapturing the space to speak and they are challenging the societies that nearly overtook them and their lifeways.

Author recommends

S. James Anaya 1996. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

This book examines the historical and contemporary issues regarding indigenous peoples and international law. Key topics include human rights, self‐determination, and negotiations with states and international institutions. The appendix includes the text of selected international doctrine related to indigenous rights. Anaya now serves as the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous peoples.

Roxanne Dunbar‐Oritz 2006. ‘The First Decade of Indigenous Peoples at the United Nations.’Peace and Change 31: 58–74. DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0130.2006.00342.x

This explores the role of indigenous peoples at the United Nations from 1974 to 1984. During this decade, the United Nations commissioned a study of the status of the world's indigenous peoples, a Conference on Indigenous Peoples of the Americas was held in Geneva, and the drafting of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (approved by the General Assembly in 2007) began.

Alexander Ewen 1994. Voice of Indigenous People. Santa Fe, NM: Clear Light Publishers.

A publication including speeches by indigenous leaders to open the International Year of the World's Indigenous People at the United Nations on Human Rights Day in 1993. These speeches were given to a nearly empty General Assembly chambers.

Ronald Niezen 2003. The Origins of Indigenism: Human Rights and the Politics of Identity. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

Indigenous forms of resistance are distinguished from ethnic groups due to their political status. Niezen explores the emergence of the concept of indigenism, the international movement of indigenous peoples. The book examines the international response to indigenous peoples’ assertions of sovereignty, diversity and commonalities across indigenous peoples, how assertions of self‐determination influence indigenous‐state and indigenous‐international governing organization relations, and the political implications of indigenous peoples’ assertions of self‐determination. A brief concluding chapter names the key projects of indigenism: affirming local claims of difference, using the language and symbols of states in claims of self‐determination, and embracing the universal concept of human rights to protect and develop identity.

Y. N. Kly and D. Kly 2001. In Pursuit of the Right to Self‐Determination: Collected Papers and Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Right to Self‐Determination and the United Nations. Atlanta, GA: Clarity Press.

This book is a collection of conference papers from the First International Conference on the Right to Self‐Determination and the United Nations. It includes explorations of self‐determination in many political contexts: internal autonomy, secession, assimilation, restorative justice, nomadic, and international law. It also includes papers on interventions in a diverse array of cases. Conference resolutions and the titles and web addresses of pertinent documents are included.

Franke Wilmer 1993. The Indigenous Voice in World Politics. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.

Writing from a world‐systems theory perspective, Wilmer explores indigenous perspectives on development, colonization, and civilization. She contrasts this with the priorities of indigenous peoples, particularly self‐determination, and concludes with a consideration of indigenous voices in world politics. The book also includes many resources in its appendices, including a chronology of events related to indigenous activism, a list of international documents pertaining to indigenous peoples, and the organizations participating in the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations meetings.

Online materials

UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/

This is the official website of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. It includes links to all of the forums held, along with the extensive documentation produced by each series of meetings. News headlines are posted regarding indigenous issues within the UN system, and the organization's newsletter The Message Stick, is available here. Films and webcasts can be viewed, which document indigenous participation in the UNPFII.

International World Group for Indigenous Affairs

http://www.iwgia.org

This organization publishes extensive reports on the status of indigenous peoples globally. There are annual reports and topical reports, as well, exploring political, social, and economic issues. The page also features a news blog which offers updates on indigenous issues, particularly political issues.

The Indian Law Resource Center

http://www.indianlaw.org

The Indian Law Resource Center is a news blog about the latest legal issues on indigenous lands around the world. It features many resources available regarding key legal decisions and publications by the Resource Center on their work to gain justice for indigenous peoples, along with the annual report of their current work.

International Indian Treaty Council

http://www.treatycouncil.org

One of the first organizations to work with the United Nations, the International Indian Treaty Council's website offers a host of documentation regarding indigenous peoples and the United Nations, including multiple drafts of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It also includes documentation on the many cases examined and fought by the International Indian Treaty Council. This website is an extensive reference for global indigenous claims. It also offers content in Spanish.

Sample syllabus

Studies of indigenous peoples and politics might contribute to units on justice or the state. This segment might also fit in a course on racial or ethnic diversity. I explore self‐determination in greater detail as it is a key issue to many indigenous peoples and it encompasses everything from the right to territory to linguistic rights to rights to traditional medicine, and more. This segment might also fit into more advanced courses analyzing rights or inequality. I do not recommend readings for the Examining Self‐Determination section as the readings will vary depending on your focus (topic or geography).

Topics for lecture or Discussion

Week I: Introduction and Overview

Definitions, Problems, and Issues: who are indigenous peoples? What is their role in national and international politics?

Reading:

Keri Iyall Smith, ‘A Review of the study of the Political Status of Indigenous Peoples in the Global Context’, Sociology Compass 1/7 (2007), pp. 756–774.

Week II–IV: Examining Self‐Determination

Explore case studies of self‐determination at the local and global level. Exemplars might include: Native Hawaiians (Kanaka Maoli), Zapatistas, Inuit of Canada and the formation of the Nunavut Territories, and the role of indigenous peoples in the United Nations.

Films and videos

Homeland: four portraits of native action

This film looks at the protection of American Indian homelands as a human rights issue and explores four different movements in Native America to protect the environment and indigenous lands: Penobscot, Gwich’in, Northern Cheyenne, and the Dine/Navajo people. The Penobscots are struggling with the state of Maine to sanction a polluting paper mill, the Gwich’in fight drilling in ANWR, the Northern Cheyenne are seeking to stop methane gas wells, and the Dine/Navajo are fighting to stop uranium mining.

Peyote road

This film explores the use of peyote by the Native American Church and the American perspective on the use of peyote. It follows the case of the landmark decision, Employment Devision v. Smith, along with the legislative change that followed this decision. The film also offers a look into the Native American Church with depictions of the role of peyote in ceremonial life.

In the light of reverence

This film explores sacred sites and the conflicts that American Indians face when trying to gain access to these sites to practice their religious beliefs. The film explores four different cases, including the Wintu seeking to gain access to Mt. Shasta and fighting the New Age believers who desecrate ceremonial lands, the Hopi dispute with private land‐owners over a peak in the Four Corners region, and Lakota Sioux seeking to gain access to Mato Tipila/Devil's Tower.

Adoption of the U.N. declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples

This is a brief film that documents the occasion of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azVhsiLNDZk

Focus Questions

What are political challenges to indigenous peoples – locally and globally?

What might be political opportunities for indigenous peoples – locally and globally?

What strategies will allow indigenous peoples to attain their claims?

Who are the indigenous peoples in your area? What are their claims? How has your community responded?

Project idea

1. Socratic Dialogs. I use this technique to discuss complex problems from many perspectives. During the Socratic Dialog, the students do all of the talking, with minimal intervention on the part of the professor to referee the conversation as needed.

During the term, we will often debate topics in Socratic Dialogs. In Socratic Dialogs, the class will respond to a well‐formulated question that requires personal responses from participants. The responses to the question will lead to a broader discussion, allowing the class to arrive at a consensus. You will be graded on your participation in Socratic Dialogs, both as Respondents and Questioners. Active participation will be rewarded!

Respondents: Respondents will work in pairs to respond to a general question posed by the professor. They must also study the text closely and research the issue at hand in order to be prepared for follow up questions from the professor and classmates. Respondents will be assigned a question one week in advance to allow them to prepare. Each student will act as a Respondent twice during the semester.

Questioners: When you are not a respondent, your role is to contribute to the conversation actively by asking questions, offering additional responses to questions, etc ... Use your own experiences to guide you in offering responses or asking questions.

Some sample Socratic Dialog Questions include:

Are tribal courts − in their contemporary or historical forms – an exercise of tribal sovereignty?

Are Native Americans sovereign, even as domestic dependent nations?

Is tradition a relevant source of legal doctrine for tribal law in contemporary times?

How can sacred sites be preserved and sacred practices remain legal, given that American Indians exist within a foreign culture and state?

Land has been called an engine of sovereignty. How can land – scarred by colonial history – also be an engine of justice for American Indians?

2. Take Home Exam Questions

In my classes on indigenous issues I have used take‐home exams in the past. I find this to be a good way to keep the students thinking about issues as they are working, which is always my goal when writing examinations. These exams are designed to help students think creatively and critically about course readings, using them in a way that is different than what we did in class. These two questions focus on American Indian tribes and the American legal system, and the conflicts between these two political bodies.

A. Why do we have a course that examines the clash between American Indian and American criminal justice systems? Provide at least three reasons. Use citations to support your claims and examples to illustrate your points. Be sure that you always explain why or how – do not assume that I know what you mean.

B. As we learned at the beginning of class, legal structures are very important tools for communities, allowing them to express and protect their values. How does the clash of cultures continue to threaten sovereignty and simultaneously empower the authority of the American federal government? What can tribes do to escape the ‘clash’ with their sovereignty intact?