Researching Indigenous Peoples International Law

By Christopher C. Dykes

Chris Dykes is the Head of Public Services at the University of Houston Law Center’s O’Quinn Law Library. He received his Juris-Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law and LL.M. in Taxation from Villanova University School of Law. He also holds a B.A. in Political Science and M.S. in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee.[1]

Published January/February 2024

(Previously updated in July/August 2012, July 2015, and June 2019)

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1. Introduction

This article is designed to provide a foundation for researching indigenous international law by covering the definition of “indigenous peoples,” a brief history, key terms and issues, regional and international organizations including the United Nations, international documentation such as treaties, selected books and articles, online sources, and other secondary sources.

2. Indigenous Peoples

2.1. Definition of “Indigenous Peoples”

Historically there has been no single way to define indigenous populations, and the terms used often vary locally. For example, in Australia the indigenous groups are commonly referred to collectively as aborigines and in the United States, they are referred to as Indians or Native Americans. This can be problematic at the international level because it can make it difficult to negotiate and draft treaties designed to protect indigenous groups and can also complicate directives or policies by international organizations. Despite this complexity, in the past 50 years there has been a move toward a broad definition that is inclusive of various ethnic groups and appreciates the identity and heritage of each group.

In Indigenous Peoples in International Law, S. James Anaya defines the term “Indigenous” as referring “broadly to the living descendants of pre-invasion inhabitants of lands now dominated by others.”[2] The term “Peoples” largely refers to communities with an identity that connects them with their past ancestors.[3] International documents such as the Convention on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, Convention No. 169 (1989) focus specifically on who is covered by the convention rather than trying to define “indigenous peoples.”[4] The World Bank issued Operational Directive 4.10 (2005), designed to replace Operational Directive 4.20 (1991), that recognizes the difficulty in defining “indigenous peoples.” It provides a detailed and broad statement regarding those who the directive protects and considers situations where it is not clear whether a specific community is included.[5]

2.2. A Brief History

Several centuries ago, the European nations settled in areas known today as North and South America, and eventually other areas would be inhabited including Australia and South Africa.[6] The native residents would be subject to slaughter, enslavement, and disease, and those who survived would endure a long history of discrimination at the hands of their new rulers.[7] Many nations, including the United States, would grant rights through case law and statutes to protect indigenous peoples living within their borders as well as their culture. Gradually it became apparent that this was an issue that needed to be dealt with at the international level. The international community has progressed in the recognition of indigenous human rights, as well as the protection of their right to maintain a separate culture, community, and tradition from the majority citizens.

In 1957, the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 107 viewed the plight of indigenous peoples within the concept of protecting individual rights, and not as a community.[8] This treaty was ratified by and remains in force for 18 countries. In 1989, a new treaty, The Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), provided greater protections for indigenous peoples than the earlier convention by considering issues such as education, health, land rights, and employment.[9] Convention No. 169 is designed specifically to defend indigenous peoples by improving their living conditions, while preserving the identity and culture of the group as a whole.[10] The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was passed by the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 29, 2006 and was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, stipulating extensive safeguards for indigenous peoples (especially in comparison with any other treaty previously) and further emphasizing the importance of protecting their identity as a group.[11]

2.3. Indigenous Populations

The following is a list of indigenous groups that a researcher will likely encounter, but it is important to keep in mind that there are numerous groups throughout the world, many which are not defined or even recognized by their state of residence. This list is by no means exhaustive.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australia
Aleut Arctic
Amazigh (Berbers) Africa
Indians America
Inuit Arctic
Hill tribes or highlanders (Khmer Loeu) Asia (Cambodia)
Maori New Zealand
Sami (Lapp) Europe
San Africa

2.4. Key Terms and Issues

The following are different terms and issues that one is likely to encounter when researching indigenous peoples in international law.

  • Aboriginal
  • Aboriginal Title
  • American Indian
  • Assimilation
  • Band
  • Culture
  • Child Labor
  • Climate Change
  • Conservation
  • Discrimination
  • Dispossession of Lands
  • Education
  • Environment
  • First Nations
  • Languages
  • Health Care
  • Human Rights
  • Identity
  • Indian
  • Indigenous
  • Intellectual Property (DNA, Agriculture)
  • Land Rights
  • Migration
  • Minorities
  • Native American
  • North America
  • Peoples
  • Poverty
  • Populations
  • Self-determination
  • Social Justice
  • Sovereignty
  • Sustained Development
  • Terra Nullius
  • Tradition
  • Traditional Knowledge
  • Transboundary
  • Tribal

3. Organizations

3.1. United Nations

3.2. Regional and National Organizations

4. Core Documents

Convention Concerning the Protection and Integration of Indigenous and Other Tribal and Semi-Tribal Populations in Independent Countries, Convention No. 107 (1957):[12] This treaty was designed to protect the civil rights of indigenous peoples, but only within the context of individual rights, not as a right to coexist as a separate society within the nation.[13]

Convention Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries, Convention No. 169 (1989):[14] This treaty is an update to Convention 107 and provides more protections for indigenous populations by seeking to improve their living conditions through education, employment, land rights, etc. while preserving their identity and culture as a separate group.[15] Only 22 nations have ratified this document to date.

United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007):[16] This declaration was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council on June 29, 2006 and was passed by the United Nations General Assembly on September 13, 2007 with a vote of 144 members in favor. Four nations, including the United States, voted against the declaration, and eleven members abstained.[17] The same countries have reversed course and are behind the declaration (U.N. Dept. of Economic & Social Affairs, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples). The provisions set standards that defend indigenous peoples as a group separate from the larger nation by allowing them to keep their cultures and traditions. The passage of this document is a major milestone for the rights of indigenous peoples internationally because of the broad protection.

AGENDA 21: Chapter 26:[18] AGENDA 21 was passed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 1992 and stipulates that states take measures to give indigenous peoples more power to independently manage their land and resources in the pursuit of sustainable development.

CERD General Recommendation (XXIII) Concerning Indigenous Peoples:[19] This document implores nations to protect and promote the culture of indigenous groups living within their borders and respect their identity and language. States are urged to offer an environment that allows indigenous populations to be able to preserve their land and resources fitting with their culture.[20] This declaration also demands that governments take measures to protect indigenous peoples from discrimination and guarantee that all decisions affecting them are made only with their approval.[21]

Convention on Biological Diversity, Article 8 (In-situ Conservation):[22] Signing nations have agreed, subject to their own laws, that they recognize and protect the traditions of indigenous peoples with respect to the “conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity.”[23]

Convention on the Rights of the Child:[24] This convention protects the rights of a child belonging to an indigenous group by asserting that no action should be taken that will prevent the child from enjoying “his or her culture, to profess and practice his or her own religion, or to use his or her own language.”[25] This document stipulates that the education the child receives accommodate his or her right to identify with the indigenous group.[26]

Declaration of Principles on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:[27] Gives indigenous peoples the right to “self-determination”, limits the right of the larger state to intrude into their territories or government, and states that their laws must be recognized.[28] This document also endorses the right of self-defense and protection of lands against the larger state, as well as control over education.[29]

Declaration of San Jose:[30] This document condemns ethnocide, which seeks to deny groups the right to self-identity, equating this denial with genocide.[31] Latin American nations are urged to recognize the right of indigenous peoples living within their borders to maintain their cultural identities, grant them autonomy over their territories, and respect them as a governing institution.[32]

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights:[33] This document discusses self-determination and recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples as a group with respect to their culture, religion, and language.[34]

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights:[35] This covenant asserts the right of self-determination and affords “rights to health, education, and an adequate standard of living.”[36]

American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples:[37] Organization of American States (OAS) drafted this declaration, which asserts indigenous peoples’ right to independently govern their populations and demands recognition of their laws as a part of the larger nation’s legal system. In addition, it specifies economic and land rights as well as protection from abuse and discrimination.

Resolution on Action Required Internationally to Provide Effective Protection for Indigenous Peoples:[38] In 1994, the European parliament issued a resolution that incorporates parts of Convention 169. This resolution basically recognizes indigenous peoples’ right to autonomous control over their territory and culture.

World Bank Operational Directive 4.10: Indigenous Peoples:[39] This is a 2013 revision of the 2005 World Bank Operational Directive 4.10, which seeks to promote economic development through projects while preserving the culture and territories of indigenous peoples. The directive requires the involvement of indigenous peoples in making decisions on projects that will impact them. The revised document has a broader definition of “Indigenous Peoples” in section 4 than the 1991 version.

5. Secondary Sources

5.1. Selected Books

Use Worldcat to locate new books on this and other topics or through the Worldcat subscription database available at most academic research libraries.

  • Abate, Randall S. & Kronk, Elizabeth Ann. Climate Change and Indigenous Peoples: The Search for Legal Remedies. Cheltenham, U.K.; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2013.
  • Åhrén, Mattias. Indigenous Peoples’ Status in the International Legal System. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • Allen, Stephen & Xanthaki, Alexandra, eds. Reflections on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Oxford; Portland, OR: Hart Pub., 2011.
  • Ali, Shaheen Sarder & Rehman, Javaid. Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic Minorities of Pakistan: Constitutional and Legal Perspectives. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 2001.
  • Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Anaya, S. James. International Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples. New York: Aspen Publishers, 2009.
  • Barnes, R.H., Gray, Andrew & Kingsbury, Benedict, eds. Indigenous Peoples of Asia. Ann Arbor: Association for Asian Studies, 1995.
  • Indigenous Religious Traditions in Five Minutes, Bassett, Molly H. & Avalos, eds. Sheffield, South Yorkshire; Bristol, CT: Equinox Publishing, 2022.
  • Bell, Catherine & Paterson, Robert K., eds. Protection of First Nations Cultural Heritage: Laws, Policy, and Reform. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2009.
  • Bens, Jonas. The Indigenous Paradox: Rights, Sovereignty, and Culture in the Americas. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2020.
  • Blaser, Mario, Feit, Harvey A. & McRae, Glenn, eds. In the Way of Development: Indigenous Peoples, Life Projects, and Globalization. London; New York: Zed Books in association with International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, 2004.
  • Braiding Legal Orders: Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Borrows, John, Chartrand, Larry, Fitzgeral, Oonagh, E. & Schwartz, eds., 2019.
  • Charters, Claire & Stavenhagen, Rodolfo, eds. Making the Declaration Work: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Copenhagen: IWGIA; New Brunswick, NJ: Distributors Transaction Publishers; Central Books, 2009.
  • Chatty, Dawn & Colchester, Marcus, eds. Conservation and Mobile Indigenous Peoples: Displacement, Forced Settlement, and Sustainable Development. New York: Berghahn Books, 2002.
  • Clearly, Edward L. & Steigenga, Timothy J., eds. Resurgent Voices in Latin America: Indigenous Peoples, Political Mobilization, and Religious Change. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 2004.
  • Creating Indigenous Property: Power, Rights, and Relationships. Cameron, Angela, Graben, Sari & Napolean, Val, eds. Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, 2020.
  • Couso, Javier A., Huneeus, Alexandra, & Sieder, Rachel, eds. Cultures of Legality: Judicialization and Political Activism in Latin America. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
  • d’Errico, Peter P. Federal Anti-Indian Law: The Legal Entrapment of Indigenous Peoples. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2022.
  • Decolonizing Law: Indigenous, Third World and Settler Perspectives. Xavier, Sujith, Jacobs, Beverley, Waboose, Valarie, Hewitt, Jeffery G & Bhatia, Amar, eds. Abingdon, Oxon, UK; New York: Routledge, 2021.
  • Doel-Mackaway, Holly, Indigenous Children’s Right to Participate in Law and Policy Development. New York: Routledge, 2022.
  • Doyle, Cathal M. Indigenous Peoples, Title to Territory, Rights and Resources: The Transformative Role of Free Prior and Informed Consent. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, U.K.; New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Drahos, Peter & Frankel, Susy, eds. Indigenous People’s Innovation: Intellectual Property Pathways to Development. Canberra, Australia: ANU E Press, 2012.
  • Echo-Hawk, Walter R. In the Light of Justice: The Rise of Human Rights in Native America and U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Golden, CO: Fulcrum, 2013.
  • Elbourne, Elizabeth. Empire, Kinship and Violence: Family Histories, Indigenous Rights and the Making of Settler Colonialism, 1770-1842. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
  • Erueti, Andrew. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A New Interpretative Approach. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021.
  • Eversole, Robyn, McNeish, John-Andrew & Cimadamore, Alberto D., eds. Indigenous Peoples and Poverty: An International Perspective. London; New York: Zed, 2005.
  • Gilbert, Jérémie. Indigenous Peoples’ Land Rights under International Law: from Victims to Actors, 2nd rev. ed. Leiden, NL; Boston: Brill Nijhoff, 2016.
  • Graber, Christoph B., Kuprecht, Karolina, & Lai, Jessica C. eds. International Trade in Indigenous Cultural Heritage: Legal and Policy Issues. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar, 2012.
  • Graham, Lorie & Van Zyl-Chavarro, Amy. Education, Media, and the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2018.
  • Grammond, Sébastien (translated by Jodi Lazare). Terms of Coexistence: Indigenous Peoples and Canadian Law. Toronto: Carswell, 2013.
  • Hamilton, Jennifer A. Indigeneity in the Courtroom: Law, Culture, and the Production of Difference in North American Courts. New York: Routledge, 2009.
  • Herrmann, Thora Martina & Martin, Thibault. Indigenous Peoples’ Governance of Land and Protected Territories in the Arctic, Cham, CH; New York: Springer (2016).
  • Hohmann, Jessie & Weller, M. The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: a Commentary. Oxford, UK, 2018.
  • Indigenous Health and Well-being in the COVID-19 Pandemic. Spence, Nicholas D. & Sekercioglu, Faith, eds. Abingdon, Oxton, UK: New York: Routledge, Taylor & Grancis Group, 2023.
  • Indigenous Justice and Gender. Nielsen, Marianne O. & Jarratt-Snider, Karen, eds. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2023.
  • Indigenous Peoples as Subjects of International Law. Watson, Irene, ed. Abingdon, Oxon, UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2018.
  • Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges for the 21st Century. Sargent, Sarah & Samanta, Jo, eds. Buckingham, UK: The University of Buckingham Press, 2016.
  • Kono, Toshiyuki & Van Uytsel, Steven eds. The UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions: A Tale of Fragmentation in International Law. Cambridge, U.K; Portland, OR: Intersentia (Distribution for the USA and Canada, International Specialized Book Services), 2012.
  • Lagoutte, Stéphanie & Gammeltoft-Hansen, Thomas. Tracing the Roles of Soft Law in Human Rights. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, 2016.
  • Lam, Maivan. At The Edge of The State: Indigenous Peoples and Self-Determination. Ardsley, NY: Transnational Publishers, 2000.
  • Latin America and International Investment Law: A Mosaic of Resistance. Droubi, Sufyan & Flores Elizondo, Cecilia Julian, eds. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 2022.
  • Lea, David. Property Rights, Indigenous People and the Developing World: Issues from Aboriginal Entitlement to Intellectual Ownership Rights. Leiden; Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2008.
  • Litigating the Rights of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in Domestic and International Courts. De Villiers, Bertus, Marko, Joseph, Palermo, Francesco & Constantin, Sergiu, eds. Leiden, UK; Boston; Brill Nijhoff, 2021.
  • Maybury-Lewis, David, ed. The Politics of Ethnicity: Indigenous Peoples in Latin American States. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies, 2002.
  • Mensi, Andrea. Indigenous Peoples, Natural Resources, and Permanent Sovereignty. Leiden, UK; Boston: Brill Nijhoff, 2023.
  • Merino, Roger. Socio-Legal Struggles for Indigenous Self-Determination in Latin America: Reimagining the Nation, Reinventing the State. Abingdon, Oxon, UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.
  • O’Sullivan, Dominic. “We are all Here to Stay”: Citizenship, Sovereignty, and the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Acton, ACT, Australia: Austalian National University Press, 2020.
  • Picolotti, Romina & Taillant, Jorge Daniel, eds. Linking Human Rights and the Environment. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003.
  • Pulitano, Elvira, ed. Indigenous Rights in the Age of the U.N. Declaration. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014.
  • Puig, Sergio. At the Margins of Globalization: Indigenous Peoples and International Economic Law. Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2021.
  • Ray, Arthur J. Aboriginal Rights Claims and the Making and Remaking of History. Chicago: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2016.
  • Research Handbook on the International Law of Indigenous Rights. Newman, Dwight, ed. Cheltenham, UK; Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd., 2022.
  • Richardson, Benjamin J., Imai, Shin & McNeil, Kent, eds. Indigenous Peoples and the Law: Comparative and Critical Perspectives. Oxford; Portland, OR: Hart, 2009.
  • Romanin Jacur. Francesca, Bonfanti, Angelica & Seatzu, Francesco. Natural Resources Grabbing: An International Law Perspective. Leiden, NL; Boston: Brill Nijhoff, 2016.
  • Rombouts, Sebastiaan Johannes. Having a Say: Indigenous Peoples, International Law and Free, Prior and Informed Consent. Oisterwijk, Netherlands: Wolf Legal Publishers, 2014.
  • Sargent, Sarah & Samanta, Jo, eds. Indigenous Rights: Changes and Challenges for the 21st Century. Buckingham, U.K.: The University of Buckingham Press, 2016.
  • Saul, Ben, Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights, International and Regional Jurisprudence (2016). Oxford, UK; Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2016.
  • Sustainability and the Rights of Nature in Practice. La Follette, Cameron & Maser, Chris, eds. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020.
  • Taylor, John & Bell, Martin, eds. Population Mobility and Indigenous Peoples in Australasia and North America. London; New York: Routledge, 2004.
  • Tidwell, Alan; Zellen, Barry Scott. Land, Indigenous Peoples and Conflict. London; New York: Routledge, 2016.
  • Time for Reparations: A Global Perspective, Bhabha, Jacqueline, Matache, Margareta, & Elkins, Caroline, eds. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.
  • Tobin, Brendin. Indigenous Peoples, Customary Law, and Human Rights: Why Living Law Matters. London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2014.
  • Traditional, National, and International Law and Indigenous Communities. Nielsen, Marianne O. & Jarratt-Snider, eds. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2020.
  • Trasper, Ronald. Indigenous Economics: Sustaining Peoples and their Lands. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 2022.
  • The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Contemporary Evaluation. Short, Damien, Lennox, Corinne, Burger, Julian, Hohmanm, Jessie, eds. Abingdon, Oxon, UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021.
  • Watson, Irene. Aboriginal Peoples, Colonialism, and International Law: Raw Law (Indigenous Peoples and the Law). Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, U.K.; New York: Routledge, 2015.
  • Watson, Irene. Indigenous Peoples as Subjects of International Law. Abingdon, U.K; New York: Routledge, 2018.
  • Watters, Lawrence, ed. Indigenous Peoples, the Environment and Law: an Anthology. Durham: Carolina Academic Press, 2004.
  • Weller, Marc, ed. Universal Minority Rights: A Commentary on the Jurisprudence of International Courts and Treaty Bodies. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2007.
  • Westra, Laura. Environmental Justice & the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: International and Domestic Legal Perspectives. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2012.
  • Whitt, Laurelyn. Science, Colonialism, and Indigenous Peoples: The Cultural Politics of Law and Knowledge. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2009.
  • Wilkins, David E. Documents of Native American Political Development: 1933 to Present. New York: Oxford University Press, 2019.
  • Xanthaki, Alexandra, Valkonen, Sanna, Heinämäki, Leena & Nuorgam, Piia, eds. Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Heritage: Rights, Debates and Challenges Leiden, NL; Boston: Brill Nijhoff (2017).
  • Young, Stephen. Indigenous Peoples, Consent and Rights: Troubling Subjects. Abingdon, Oxon. UK; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2020.

5.2. Periodical Indexes

  • LegalTrac (Gale OneFile) Database (requires subscription). This is the electronic version of Current Law Index. Search through law journal articles by subject, title, author, and publication using the advanced search feature. The user can also limit the results by date. Covers articles from 1980 until the present and select articles are available in full text in PDF and html.
  • American Association of Law Libraries. Index to Legal Periodicals. New York: H.W. Wilson Co, 1909.
  • American Association of Law Libraries & University of London. Index to Foreign Legal Periodicals. Berkeley: University of California Press for the American Association of Law Libraries, 1960.
  • Current Law Index. Los Altos: Information Access Corp, 1980. Included in LegalTrac.

5.3. Selected Articles

See “Periodical Indexes” for sources that can be used to locate journal articles on indigenous peoples’ international law and other topics.

  • Adcock, Fleur & Charters, Claire, Indigenous Peoples’ Rights under International Law, 7 N.Z.Y.B. Int’l L. 308 (2010).
  • Ahmed, Kawser, Defining ‘Indigenous’ in Bangladesh: International Law in Domestic Context, 17 Int’l J. Minority & Group Rights 47 (2010).
  • Alvarado, Leonardo J., Prospects and Challenges in the Implementation of Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights in International Law: Lessons from the Case of Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua, 24 Ariz. J. Int’l & Comp. L. 609 (2007).
  • Anaya, S. James, The Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: United Nations Developments, 35 U. Haw. L. Rev. 983 (2013).
  • Antkowiak, Thomas M., Rights, Resources, and Rhetoric: Indigenous Peoples and the Inter-American Court, 35 U. Pa. J. Int’l L. 113 (2013).
  • Bankes, Nigel, International Human Rights Law and Natural Resources Projects within the Traditional Territories of Indigenous Peoples, 47 Alberta L. Rev. 457 (2010).
  • Barelli, Mauro, The Role of Soft Law in the International Legal System: The Case of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, 58 Int’l & Comp. L. Q. 957 (2009).
  • Blakeney, Michael, Protecting the Spiritual Beliefs of Indigenous Peoples—Australian Case Studies, 22 Pac. Rim L. & Pol’y J. 391 (2013).
  • Bratspies, Rebecca M., The New Discovery Doctrine: Some Thoughts on Property Rights and Traditional Knowledge (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 315 (2007).
  • Brilman, Marina, Consenting to Dispossession: the Problematic Heritage and Complex Future of Consultation and Consent of Indigenous Peoples, 49 Colum. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 1 (2018).
  • Cambou, Dorothée & Smis, Stefaan, Permanent Sovereignty Over Natural Resources from A Human Rights Perspective: Natural Resources Exploitation and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Arctic, 22 Mich. St. Int’l. L. Rev. 347 (2013).
  • Carpenter, Kristen A., “Aspirations”: The United States and Indigenous Peoples’ Human Rights. 36 Harv. Hum. Rts. J. 41 (2023).
  • Carpenter, Kristen A. & Riley, Angela R., Indigenous Peoples and the Jurisgenerative Moment in Human Rights, 102 Cal. L. Rev. 173 (2014).
  • Cassidy, Julie, The Enforcement of Aboriginal Rights in Customary International Law, 4 Ind. Int’l & Comp. L. Rev. 59 (1993).
  • Castellino, Joshua, The Protection of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples in International Law: A Comparative Temporal Analysis, 17 Int’l J. Minority & Group Rights 393 (2010).
  • Cernic, Jernej Letnar, State Obligations Concerning Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to their Ancestral Lands: Lex Imperfecta?, 28 Am. U. Int’l L. Rev. 1129 (2013).
  • Cirkovic, Elena, Self-Determination and Indigenous Peoples in International Law (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 375 (2007).
  • Chambers, Reid Peyton & Stephens, William F., Principles of International Law that Support Claims of Indian Tribes to Water Resources, 63 UCLA L. Rev. 1530 (2016).
  • Christensen, Grant, Indigenous Perspectives on Corporate Governance, 23 U. Pa. J. Bus. L. 902 (2021).
  • Cotula, Lorenza, Land, Property, and Sovereignty in International Law, 25 Cardozo J. Int’l & Comp. L. 219 (2017).
  • Coulter, Robert T., The U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: a Historic Change in International Law, 45 Idaho L. Rev. 539 (2009).
  • Coyle, Michael, Negotiating Indigenous Peoples’ Exit from Colonialism: The Case for an Integrative Approach, 27 Can. J.L. & Juris. 283 (2014).
  • The Double Life of International Law: Indigenous Peoples and Extractive Industries, 129 Harv. L. Rev. 1755 (2016).
  • Emeziem, Cosmas. Miserable Comforts or Concrete Protections: Human Rights Conventions, Treaties, Declarations, and the Rights of Indigenous/Othered Communities–Quo Vadis?, 21 Santa Clara J. Int’l L. 47 (2022).
  • Engle, Karen, On Fragile Architecture: the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Context of Human Rights, 22 Eur. J. Int’l L. 141 (2011).
  • Farrall, P. Carter. Mcgirt and Tribal Sovereignty: Putting Jurisdictional Power Back in the Hands of Indigenous Peoples, 11 Wake Forest J.L. & Pol’y 737 (2021).
  • Fife, III, William J. & Solomon, Beylul, Indigenous Rights: A Pathway to End American Second-Class Citizenship, 32 S. Cal. Rev. L. & Soc. Just. 59 (2022).
  • Foster, George K., Foreign Investment and Indigenous Peoples: Options for Promoting Equilibrium Between Economic Development and Indigenous Rights, 33 Mich. J. Int’l L. 627 (2012).
  • Francioni, Francesco, From Rio to Paris: What is Left of the 1992 Declaration on Environment and Development?, 11 Intercultural Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 15 (2016).
  • Getches, David H., Indigenous Peoples’ Rights to Water under International Norms, 16 Colo. J. Int’l Envtl. L. & Pol’y 259 (2005).
  • Gilbert, Jeremie, Historical Indigenous Peoples’ Land Claims: A Comparative and International Approach to the Common Law Doctrine on Indigenous Title, 56 Int’l & Comp. L.Q. 583 (2007).
  • Gonnella, Matthew, If You are not at the Table, then you are Probably on the Menu: Indigenous Peoples’ Participatory Status at the United Nations, 41 Suffolk Transnat’l L. Rev. 145 (2018).
  • Gordon, Seth, Indigenous Rights in Modern International Law from a Critical Third World Perspective (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 401 (2007).
  • Huff, Andrew, Indigenous Land Rights and the New Self-Determination, 16 Colo. J. Int’l Envtl. L. & Pol’y 295 (2005).
  • Kingsbury, Benedict, Reconciling Five Competing Conceptual Structures of Indigenous Peoples’ Claims in International and Comparative Law, 34 N.Y.U. J. Int’l L. & Pol. 189 (2001).
  • Legg, Michael, Indigenous Australians and International Law: Racial Discrimination, Genocide and Reparations, 20 Berkeley J. Int’l L. 387 (2002).
  • Lehmann, Karin, To Define or Not to Define – the Definitional Debate Revisited (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 509 (2007).
  • Kalantry, Sital & Koeppen, Nicholas. When Contact Kills: Indigenous Peoples Living in Voluntary Isolation During COVID, 68 UCLA L. Rev. Discourse 268 (2020).
  • MacIntosh, Constance, The Role of Law in Ameliorating Global Inequalities in Indigenous Peoples’ Health, 41 J.L. Med. & Ethics 74 (2013).
  • Macklem, Patrick, Indigenous Recognition in International Law: Theoretical Observations, 30 Mich. J. Int’l L. 177 (2008).
  • Martinez, Laura, Indigenous Women in Latin America: An Effort for Human Rights, 46 Denv. J. Int’l L. & Pol’y 243 (2018).
  • McLaren, Oliver W. & Pariseau, Julie-Anne, The World Bank Safegaurd Standard for Indigenous Peoples: Where do we Start?, 45 Syracuse J. Int’l. L. & Com. 35 (2017).
  • McNeil, Kent, Sovereignty and Indigenous Peoples in North America, 22 U.C. Davis J. Int’l L. & Pol’y 81 (2016).
  • Miller, Russell A., Collective Discursive Democracy as the Indigenous Right to Self-Determination (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 341 (2007).
  • Mooney, Megan, How the Organization of American States Took the Lead: The Development of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights in the Americas (Symposium: Lands, Liberties, and Legacies: Indigenous Peoples and International Law), 31 Am. Indian L. Rev. 553 (2007).
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6. Online Sources

7. Other Sources

8. Bibliography

  • Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
  • Lea, David. Property Rights, Indigenous People and the Developing World: Issues from Aboriginal Entitlement to Intellectual Ownership Rights. Leiden; Boston: Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, 2008.
  • Westra, Laura, ed. Environmental Justice & the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: International and Domestic Legal Perspectives. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2008.
  • Picolotti, Romina & Taillant, Jorge Daniel, eds. Linking Human Rights and the Environment, Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2003.

[1] Special thanks to the following for their suggested comments and revisions: Sherri Thomas, Law Librarian and Professor of Law Librarianship at the University of New Mexico Law Library; Thanks to Amanda Watson, Director and Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center, O’Quinn Law Library and Emily Lawson, Associate Director at the University of Houston Law Center, O’Quinn Law Library for their support.

[2] Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, p. 3. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[3] Id.

[4] International Labor Organization (ILO), General Conference, 76th Session, Geneva, (June 27, 1989), (entered into force September 5, 1991),

1. This Convention applies to:

(a) Tribal peoples in independent countries whose social, cultural and economic conditions distinguish them from other sections of the national community, and whose status is regulated wholly or partially by their own customs or traditions or by special laws or regulations;

(b) Peoples in independent countries who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, or a geographical region to which the country belongs, at the time of conquest or colonization or the establishment of present State boundaries and who, irrespective of their legal status, retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions.

2. Self-identification as indigenous or tribal shall be regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining the groups to which the provisions of this Convention apply.

3. The use of the term “peoples” in this Convention shall not be construed as having any implications as regards the rights which may attach to the term under international law.

[5] World Bank Operational Directive 4.10: Indigenous Peoples (July 2013).

4. For purposes of this policy, the term “Indigenous Peoples” is used in a generic sense to refer to a distinct, vulnerable, social, and cultural group possessing the following characteristics in varying degrees:

(a) self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others;

(b) collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories;

(c) customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and

(d) an indigenous language, often different from the official language of the country or region.

A group that has lost “collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area”; (paragraph 4 (b)) because of forced severance remains eligible for coverage under this policy. Ascertaining whether a particular group is considered as “Indigenous Peoples” for the purpose of this policy may require a technical judgment (see paragraph 8).

8. Early in project preparation, the Bank undertakes a screening to determine whether Indigenous Peoples (see paragraph 4) are present in, or have collective attachment to, the project area. In conducting this screening, the Bank seeks the technical judgment of qualified social scientists with expertise on the social and cultural groups in the project area. The Bank also consults the Indigenous Peoples concerned and the borrower. The Bank may follow the borrower’s framework for identification of Indigenous Peoples during project screening, when that framework is consistent with this policy.

[6] Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, pp. 3-6. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[7] Id.

[8] Id. at 55.

[9] International Labor Organization (ILO), General Conference, 76th Session, Geneva (June 27, 1989), (entered into force September 5, 1991).

[10] Id.

[11] United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. See also the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Overview Page.

[12] International Labor Organization (ILO), Geneva (June 26, 1957), 328 U.N.T.S. 247, (entered into force June 2, 1959).

[13] Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, p.55. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[14] International Labor Organization (ILO), General Conference, 76th Session, Geneva (June 27, 1989), (entered into force September 5, 1991).

[15] Id.

[16] United Nations General Assembly, Res. 61/295 (September 13, 2007).

[17] United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People. United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs, Indigenous Peoples.

[18] United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, (June 13, 1992), U.N. Doc. A/CONF.151/26 (vol. 3), at 16, Annex 2 (1992).

[19] United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 1235th meeting (August 18, 1997), U.N. Doc. CERD/C/51/misc. 13/Rev. 4 (1997), reprinted in Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, pp. 341-342. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Convention on Biological Diversity, art. 8(j), UNCED, Rio de Janiero, (June 5, 1992), 1760 UNTS 79, 31 ILM 818 (1992) (entered into force December 29, 1993).

[23] Id.

[24] United Nations General Assembly, Res. 44/25, (November 20, 1989), 1577 U.N.T.S. 3, 28 I.L.M. 1456 (entered into force September 2, 1990).

[25] Id. at art. 30.

[26] See generally id.

[27] Adopted by representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations meeting in Geneva (July 1985), in preparation for the fourth session of the U.N. Working Group on Indigenous Populations, and by representatives of indigenous peoples and organizations meeting, Geneva (July 1987) in preparation for the group’s fifth session, UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1987/22.Annex 5 (1987), reprinted in Westra, Laura. Environmental Justice & the Rights Of Indigenous Peoples: International and Domestic Legal Perspectives, pp. 291-293. London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2008.

[28] Id.

[29] Id.

[30] UNESCO Meeting of Experts on Ethno-Development and Ethnocide in Latin America, San Jose, Costa Rica (Dec. 11, 1981), UNESCO Doc. FS.82/WF.32 (1982), reprinted in Westra, Laura. Environmental Justice & the Rights Of Indigenous Peoples: International and Domestic Legal Perspectives, pp. 293-294 London; Sterling, VA: Earthscan, 2008.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] United Nations General Assembly, Res. 2200A (XXI) (December 16, 1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, (entered into force, March 23, 1976).

[34] Id.

[35] United Nations General Assembly, Res. 2200A (XXI) (December 16, 1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, (entered into force, January 3, 1976).

[36] Id. Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, p. 149. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[37] Organization of American States. General Assembly, 46th Regular Session (adopted at the Third Plenary Session, June 15, 2016) (46th: 2016: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.), OAS Doc. AG/RES.2888 (XLVI-O/16) (2016), https://www.oas.org/en/sare/documents/DecAmIND.pdf.

[38] European Parliament, Strasbourg (February 9, 1994), Eur. Parl. Doc. PV 58(II) (1994), reprinted in Anaya, S. James. Indigenous Peoples in International Law, pp. 328-330. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.

[39] Operational Manual, OP 4.10 Indigenous Peoples (July 2005).