Understanding Indigenous Peoples
MUWEKMAOHLONE TRIBE
Indigenous peoples are descendants of the original inhabitants of a region prior to the arrival of settlers from other areas.
They maintain distinct social, cultural, and religious traditions despite integration into mainstream societies.
Spread across continents like North America,Australia, and New Zealand, they comprise about 6% of the global population but face significant challenges.
These include disproportionate poverty (19% among the extremely poor), lower life expectancy (up to 20 years less than non-indigenous populations), and limited control over their lands and resources.
Discrimination and biases hinder their access to economic opportunities, political participation, and justice.
Despite these challenges, indigenous peoples play crucial roles in global biodiversity conservation and climate action. They manage or occupy 25% of the world's surface area and safeguard 80% of remaining biodiversity. Their stewardship of forest lands helps absorb a significant portion of global carbon emissions.
Moreover, their ancestral knowledge is invaluable for climate resilience and natural disaster mitigation efforts worldwide.
However, these contributions often go unrecognized, and indigenous communities continue to face systemic inequalities that threaten their cultural heritage and well-being.