The term “indigenous peoples” has been the subject of considerable discussion and study and there is no universal, standard definition thereof.

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (2007) acknowledges the equal human rights of indigenous peoples against cultural discrimination and seeks to promote mutual respect and harmonious relations between the indigenous peoples and States.  However, it does not provide a definition of “indigenous peoples.”

The description of the concept of “indigenous” in the Study of the Problem of Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations, prepared by Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Mr. J. Martínez Cobo, is regarded as an acceptable working definition by many indigenous peoples and their representative organizations.  The Study understands indigenous communities, peoples and nations as “those which, having a historical continuity with ‘pre-invasion’ and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those countries, or parts of them.  They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identities, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural pattern, social institutions and legal systems.”

Article 1 of the ILO Convention concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries states that the Convention applies to:

03.1.  “(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;

03.2.

03.3.  (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.”

The UNEP List of Acronyms and Glossary Terms provide the following definition of “Indigenous people/s”:  “No universal, standard definition. Usually considered to include cultural groups and their descendants who have a historical continuity or association with a given region, or parts of a region, and who currently inhabit or have formerly inhabited the region either before its subsequent colonization or annexation, or alongside other cultural groups during the formation of a nation-state, or independently or largely isolated from the influence of the claimed governance by a nation-state, and who furthermore have maintained, at least in part, their distinct linguistic, cultural and social / organizational characteristics, and in doing so remain differentiated in some degree from the surrounding populations and dominant culture of the nation-state.  Also include people who are self-identified as indigenous, and those recognized as such by other groups.”

The World Bank uses the term “indigenous peoples” in a generic sense to refer to distinct groups with the following characteristics in varying degrees:

• self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others;
• collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the project area and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories;
• customary cultural, economic, social, or political institutions that are separate from those of the dominant society and culture; and
• an indigenous language, often different from the official language of the country or region.

The UNDP and Indigenous Peoples: A Policy of Engagement, prepared by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) provides that:  “…(a) indigenous peoples usually live within (or maintain attachments to) geographically distinct ancestral territories;  (b) they tend to maintain distinct social, economic, and political institutions within their territories;  (c) they typically aspire to remain distinct culturally, geographically and institutionally rather than assimilate fully into national society;  and (d) they self-identify as indigenous or tribal.

Despite common characteristics, there does not exist any single accepted definition of indigenous peoples that captures their diversity as peoples.  Self-identification as indigenous or tribal is usually regarded as a fundamental criterion for determining whether groups are indigenous or tribal, sometimes in combination with other variables such as “language spoken,” and “geographic location or concentration.”

The Peruvian Law No. 27811 of 24 July, 2002, Law Introducing a Protection Regime for the Collective Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples Derived from Biological Resources defines “indigenous peoples” as “aboriginal peoples holding rights that existed prior to the formation of the Peruvian State, maintaining a culture of their own, occupying a specific territorial area and recognizing themselves as such.  These include peoples in voluntary isolation or with which contact has not been made, and also rural and native communities.  The term ‘indigenous’ shall encompass, and may be used as a synonym of, ‘aboriginal’, ‘traditional’, ‘ethnic’, ‘ancestral’, ‘native’ or other such word form.”

“Aboriginal people” is a related term.  The Oxford Dictionary defines “aboriginal” as (1) “[…] of peoples, plants, and animals:  inhabiting or existing in a land from earliest times; strictly native, indigenous”;  (2) “[…] inhabiting or occupying a country before the arrival of European colonists and those whom they introduced”;  and (3) “[…] of, relating to, or characteristic of the Aborigines of Australia or their languages.”

Section 35 of the Constitution of Canada states that “[…] Aboriginal Peoples of Canada includes the Indian, Inuit and Métis peoples of Canada.”  The 1996 Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal People self-defined their focus group as:  “… organic political and cultural entities that stem historically from the original peoples of North America […].”

Indigenous communities, peoples and nations are those which, having a historical continuity with pre-invasion and pre-colonial societies that developed on their territories, consider themselves distinct from other sectors of the societies now prevailing in those territories, or parts of them.  They form at present non-dominant sectors of society and are determined to preserve, develop, and transmit to future generations their ancestral territories, and their ethnic identity, as the basis of their continued existence as peoples, in accordance with their own cultural patterns, social institutions and legal systems.