Indigenous and tribal cultures

"...our models are now being acknowledged as the more viable and sustainable models.
We still have to make our communities more democratic and gender-sensitive...
we are working hard on this and together we can work
for the attainment of a transformed world society".

---- Victoria Tauli-Corpus, indigenous advocate

Changes to the cultures of indigenous and tribal people have often been brutal, imposed upon them by dominant cultures and colonial powers who have used their might to isolate or enslave many of these peoples. Their aim? To exploit the lands occupied by these peoples and the resources attached to these lands. But these cultures often have ancient lifestyles which have endured from time immemorial without much modification. Most of the changes which have occurred took place in the last 500 years; some only in the twentieth century; and they continue today.

Many indigenous cultures have a clear gender division of labour, whether they live by hunting/gathering and fishing (Africa, the Arctic, North America, the Pacific), and pastoralism and agriculture or mining and other forms of resource use (Asia, Africa, the Americas). In industrialized cultures, the gender balance is often tipped in favour of the male. In the indigenous world, however, there may be matriarchy along with their own customs and custom-based laws. While there are many different forms of cultures among these peoples, this gender division often results in a more balanced division of authority between women and men. These characteristics are unknown to most people today, and need further recognition and study to understand how a matriarchy solves environmental, territorial and social problems.

The spiritual world of many indigenous and tribal peoples is also an unexplored area for outsider, one which could shed light on globalization as to questions regarding values, collectivity and collective rights, sharing of resources, giving, songs, dance, music, and relations to death.

Women are highly visible in the international indigenous movement which has come into existence in the last 20 years. Many are well-educated and competent workers both on national and international platforms. Their work highlights questions of the environment, trade and intellectual property, and indigenous and tribal peoples' national, regional and international rights, and has a significant impact on the international debate.

Regional indigenous women's organizations are found in Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Arctic and the Pacific. They are represented in many national social institutions. Political representation is scarce as yet, and indigenous and tribal women need to encourage and support each other's candidacies. Indigenous women lobbied successfully to have their voices heard at the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women, where a forty-point "Declaration of Indigenous Women" was issued. In it, governments and other social partners are asked to take particular measures to promote and strengthen national policies and programmes in favour of indigenous women in the areas of human rights, health, education and economic development.

The past decade has also witnessed a growing recognition of the distinct interests and concerns of indigenous and tribal women, whose identity, cultural traditions and forms of social organization enhance and strengthen the communities in which they live. They often face barriers both as women and as indigenous and tribal peoples. The significance of the work of these women deserves more recognition, and they should be used as resource persons by Governments, Indigenous Organisations and UN Agencies more often in questions of concern to them.

Their rights have been recognised in the ILO's Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), the only international Convention in this subject. The ILO Project on the Rights of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples is now producing a publication on traditional occupations, which describes the role of the sexes in the socioeconomic life of eleven different indigenous and tribal peoples from all regions of the world.

Since 1997, the Project has been involved in micro-level activities in India in partnership with LAYA, an NGO active in tribal issues in Andhra Pradesh, for the empowerment of tribal women displaced by the construction of a hydroelectric dam. It is a capacity-building exercise guided by the interests and concerns of the women, to which the Project has provided resources, organizational experience and support.

Aims of the ILO/LAYA programme

Facilitate discussions on problems and issues faced by women with a view toward developing appropriate action strategies
Increase access to, and control over, land and natural resources, including resource management
Study, document and disseminate information on indigenous knowledge systems and practices

In August, 1999, the Project organized an Eastern African Indigenous Women Conference with the African Indigenous Women's Organization (AIWO). AIWO was established in 1998 to defend and promote the rights of African indigenous women, among many other things.

The purpose of the Conference was to discuss the enhancement of the capacity of African indigenous women to participate in development, and to increase their participation in political, social, and economic structures on the continent. As bearers of traditional knowledge and responsible for training the new generations, they want better access to education, to promote health by avoiding dangerous traditional practices such as genital mutilation, and to promote land ownership. Another important goal emphasized at the Conference was the need for diversifying income-generating alternatives and a better marketing of indigenous women's products.

Achieving the goals of indigenous women will, without doubt, be a long and important struggle, and they will need understanding and support from both the local and international communities, as well as that of their men.

Gender! A Partnership of Equals Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.

Indigenous and tribal cultures

Gender! A Partnership of Equals
Geneve: International Labour Office, 2000. 115 p.