What are the biggest issues facing indigenous cultures worldwide?
Many of the world’s greatest natural resources are on our land. That means that our land and resources are under constant attack by multinational corporations seeking oil, gold, timber, and hydroelectric power. The companies that exploit and mine coal on Navajo land in Arizona are the same companies that mine uranium and coal in Australia and New Zealand. We have a phrase in our Lakota language: mitakuye oyasin, which in English means “we are all related.” Now that governments around the world have determined that global warming is indeed a threat to humanity, they’re beginning to embrace this principle of mitakuye oyasin. Where are indigenous cultures most oppressed? Almost every area of the world. Latin America, Africa, and Asia are probably worst. And, of course, the American Indian is horribly oppressed. In some areas of the world, indigenous people aren’t even recognized under the law. Because they’re considered citizens of the country in which they reside, they have no rights to
