Who is indigenous?

[Johanna Laakso]

Dear Frank & All,

in our case, one central issue was the position of the Sámi as "the only indigenous people of the EU", in contrast to other old minorities of Europe. As it seems, the "definitions" of indigenitude (as I wrote, the ILO convention actually does not provide a definition in the strict sense of the word) is largely motivated by the colonisation of non-European areas by Europeans, and its consequences. Within Europe, the situation is more complicated, as there often are many old ethnic and linguistic groups all inhabiting the same regions "from times immemorial", and whether the "timeline in a specific geographical location extends back further than any other ethnic or linguistic group in that location" cannot always be unanimously determined.

Best
Johanna
--
Univ.Prof. Dr. Johanna Laakso
Universität Wien, Institut für Europäische und Vergleichende Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft (EVSL)
Abteilung Finno-Ugristik
Campus AAKH Spitalgasse 2-4 Hof 7
A-1090 Wien
johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at • http://homepage.univie.ac.at/Johanna.Laakso/
Project ELDIA: http://www.eldia-project.org/ 




Frank DiSalle kirjoitti 19.1.2013 kello 14.03:

> 
> On Sat, Jan 19, 2013 at 4:09 AM, Johanna Laakso <johanna.laakso at univie.ac.at> wrote:
> Indigenous peoples are "First Nations" in the sense of "the first inhabitants ever (known)", and ALSO peoples whose culture and identity sharply differ from those of the majority and whose history includes colonisation, dispossession, marginalisation or subjugation.
> 
> I'd be very interested in hearing (reading) the justification for including the following in a definition of "indigenous":
> Their culture and identity sharply differ from those of the majority AND 
> Their history includes colonisation, dispossession, marginalisation or subjugation. 
> I think the simpler definition of indigenous would be the cultural (i.e., ethnic or linguistic) group whose timeline in a specific geographical  location extends back further than any other ethnic or linguistic group in that location. 
> Respectfully,
> Frank DiSalle 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> The object of life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane.
>  ~ Marcus Aurelius 
>  

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