13 August 2021
T
hey represent 6.2 per cent of the world population, just 476 million people spread over 90 countries, but they preserve immense cultural diversity, traditions, languages and unique knowledge beyond a very tight bond with the earth. They have a conception of nature, agriculture, economic development and life priorities based on a particular world view. They are the indigenous populations, a handful of people at risk of extinction, and more exposed to extreme poverty than any other population. Forty-seven per cent of them have never studied, (compared to 17 per cent of non-indigenous people), a percentage that increases among women.
The United Nations General Assembly declared that “indigenous peoples are the moral compass of humanity” but this does not save them from the spoliation of the lands on which they live, and does not ...
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