Indigenous Affairs 3-4/97

Despite increased and ever more vocal participation by indig­enous peoples at the international political arena, the human rights situation of indigenous peoples remains criticaI.

A major threat to the lives, cultures and dignity of indigenous peoples is the rapidly ongoing loss of ancestral territories and the loss of access to and control over land resources. On so many occa­sions indigenous representatives have tried to explain to the world that ances­tral lands and territories are not only a fundament for physical survival and for continuation of their mode of produc­tion, they are likewise crucial for their whole cultural and spiritual world - a link to the past and essential for the continuous practice and development of indigenous identity.