Who we are: Indigenous Peoples in Asia

This briefing paper describes the term 'Indigenous Peoples'. Over the past decades, the concept of Indigenous Peoples has evolved beyond the original meaning still found in dictionaries, and it is now well established in international law. That is why we are writing it with capital initial letters. More and more people in Asia identify themselves as belonging to Indigenous Peoples. In some cases communities of Indigenous Peoples were forced to leave their lands because of violent conflicts, and to move to another country, like to Thailand, Vietnam or Laos. There, they are clearly not the first inhabitants, the aboriginal or native people. But they still remain Indigenous Peoples. The paper presents shortly the names used by governments to refer to indigenous peoples collectively and also some examples of how indigenous peoples are called in Asia. This publication has been published with the support from IWGIA and others.