Land is the basis of livelihood.
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• Hunting and fishing in the arctic and sub-arctic; • Transhumant nomadic pastoralism in the deserts and semi-deserts of Africa,
and of West and Central Asia; • Shifting cultivation in the tropics and sub-tropics of South and Central America,
Africa, and South and Southeast Asia; • Intensive agriculture, like wet-rice cultivation in South and Southeast Asia, or corn
production in North and Central America.
In most cases, indigenous communities combine their main or pivotal form of land use with several other forms of land-resource use. For example, shifting cultivators in Southeast Asia usu-
ally combine swidden agriculture with animal husbandry they keep pigs, chicken, cattle, buffalo, horses etc., hunting and gathering, fishing, cultivation of cash crops like rubber, coffee, tea,
spices and seasonal off-farm employment.
Most indigenous people are still largely de- pendent on land and natural resources for their
livelihood, even though an increasing number of the youth are seeking employment outside their
communities.
b. The relationship of indigenous peoples to the land goes beyond economics; it has a social and
cultural dimension.
The social organisation of indigenous peo- ples is reflected in the way the community regu-
lates access to land and resources.
The Tangkhul Naga of Northeast India, for ex- ample, distinguish between land over which individuals have use rights, land that belongs to a
clan, and land that belongs to the whole village. There are clear regulations on the use of each type of land.
Land use and ownership rights are defined similarly among
the Kalinga of the Northern Luzon Cordillera in the Philippines, who
differentiate between: 1 rice fields owned by individuals; 2
swidden land used by individuals but owned by the village; 3 pas-
ture and forest land owned by the entire tribe, whose territory may
consist of several villages.
A village identifies strongly with its land, and so does the indi-
vidual who has inherited a paddy field from an ancestor.
Simpliied diagram of a Kalinga tribe’s bugis territory and consituent il-ili villages by Rafael Marcus Bangit
The Upper Fay Valley in the Buhid Ancestral Domain, Mindoro, Phil- ippines. Photo by Chrisian Erni
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The history of a community or a people is often written in the landscape: particular geo- graphical features or landmarks like mountains, rock formations, lakes, ponds, gorges, creeks,
particular parts of a forest, groves or even single trees have meaning, are often linked to myths or legends, or tell stories about events of the distant or more recent past.
c. Indigenous peoples have a strong spiritual relationship to land. Indigenous peoples consider their lands as inhabited not just by people, plants and animals,
but also by spirits. Many indigenous peoples believe that, along with the many kinds of nature spirits, their ancestors’ spirits continue to live on their land. Thus indigenous peoples’ territories
typically have many sacred places which are either never visited, or visited for special ceremo- nies. The land is their temple.
d. The relationship to land is strongly communal. Land is the source of collective identity as com- munities and as a people.
e. The relationship to land has also an intergenerational dimension: land has been handed down by the ancestors, and it will be handed down again to children. As a result, there is a strong sense
of responsibility towards the land.
Because of the close interconnections of economy, social organization, culture, spirituality, and the environment – i.e. the land, territory and resources – the experience of indigenous peo-
ples throughout the world is that when the relationship between a community and the land it occupies changes, the relationships within this community also change. In other words, if rapid
changes occur in the land use or land tenure systems of indigenous communities, or if indigenous communities lose access to and rights over land and resources, the indigenous communities will
themselves change rapidly. And the changes that happen in indigenous communities will affect the environment and the people living nearby.
Most important is to be aware of the impact of land loss, of the changes and effects that can come about due to land alienation. A look at what happened around the world will tell us what is
likely to happen in our own communities if the land alienation problem is not addressed. Ask the participants for examples from their
own communities. Ask them to draw their own diagrams if possible.
Group Interacion
Ask the participants for examples from their own communities.
Group Interacion
Ask the participants for examples of expe- riences with change in their own lands and
communities.
Group Interacion
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Since the relationship of indigenous peoples to land is usually so close and
multi-dimensional, the impact of land loss can be devastating. Among some in-
digenous peoples it has led to total social breakdown.
EXAMPLE: THE KHWE OF THE CENTRAL KA-
LAHARI IN BOTSWANA
The Khwe used to live on hunting and gathering, and raising goats, don-
keys and horses. But all the good land with access to water was taken away
by outside farmers and turned into cattle ranches.
Only in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve could about 1,000 Khwe continue an independent life. But even this ended just recently when the Khwe were relocated out
of the reserve.
Left without land, their life has become extremely harsh, and the Khwe have become the poorest and most marginalized sector of Botswana society.
A few have found jobs as farm hands. They live on the farms with their families in total dependence on the farm owners.
It is important to note that this is a very common situation. Indigenous people gen- erally have much less access to education than the majority people. As a consequence
indigenous people find it very difficult to obtain an education that enables them to find alternative incomes when they have lost their lands.
Therefore, throughout the world indigenous people who have become landless end up working as unskilled laborers. But as modernization and mechanization in agricul-
ture and industry progresses, they tend to become unemployed again. As a result of land occupation by outside farmers in Botswana, the Khwe communi-
ties have been torn apart, and their traditional social structure has broken down. Many have moved to towns, where they live in slum areas and try to make a living as daily
laborers. Over the recent decades more have been forced to move their homes as cattle farming was modernized and fewer people are needed.
The result is not only devastating for the Khwe, but poses problems to the nation. Thousands of Khwe have now been relocated by the government to special resettle-
ment sites. There, the government provides food and housing, and runs schools and health centers. But there are almost no jobs in these resettlement sites, and hardly any
other economic opportunities. So people are forced to spend most of the days idle. Al-
Simpliied illustraion of the impact of land loss on indigenous peoples.
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coholism and domestic violence are rampant. Social structure and culture have almost totally disintegrated.
As a consequence of losing their land, the Khwe have become almost totally depen- dent on government support. It is very costly and difficult to develop viable economic
alternatives under such conditions, and almost impossible to revive the people’s culture and society.
Many such examples can be cited from all over the world where indigenous communities have been alienated from their land and resources. It is widely recognized that, as a result, indig-
enous peoples are often among the poorest of the poor.
The interconnection between land loss, disruption of social structures and values, and pov- erty among indigenous peoples is well established. In a workshop on indigenous peoples and
poverty organized by IWGIA in 2002, this was illustrated with examples from India.
Among communities in Central India, where social structures and values have broken down as a consequence of land loss, indigenous communities have been impoverished to the point of
starvation. On the other hand, in Northeast India, indigenous communities have maintained a certain control over land and natural resources. Their social structure and culture is thus intact,
and there is much less poverty.
The Asian Development Bank conducted a series of studies on poverty and indigenous peo- ples in 2001 and 2002. The results were revealing: in all reports, land loss was consistently men-
tioned as one of the main causes of poverty. Two examples from the ADB report are presented below.
EXAMPLE 1: INDONESIA
During the project’s provincial workshop in Palu, Central Sulawesi…many adat com- munity representatives and supportive NGOs stated quite strongly that the main cause
of adat community poverty is lack of recognition and protection of their rights to their land and natural resources, from which many have been dispossessed. Plant: 37
EXAMPLE 2: PHILIPPINES
The most frequently recurring issues raised during consultations with indigenous peoples refer to their lands. This may take on the form of landgrabbing by powerful poli-
ticians and business persons, entry of CBFM [Community Based Forest Management], tourism, plantations, projects such as dams and individual claims by non-indigenous
persons. Plant: 38
One of the consequences of land loss and social breakdown are poor health and the high costs of trying to address health problems. In Australia for example, many people originally thought
that forcing indigenous people to change from their traditional lifestyles would improve health conditions. But the opposite happened. Their social systems were weakened and people did not
feel in control of their lives anymore. They were forced into development that did not respect their cultural values and knowledge. They lost their community vision for the future. Social and
health problems increased as a result. It became a major embarrassment to the national govern- ment that these problems were created. And now, because the social systems have been weak-
ened so much, the cost of health services to try to address this is often more than twice than that for the non-indigenous peoples. It has been only with restoration of community lands that some
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of these problems could be addressed. Even so, much of the damage and problems are extremely difficult to reverse.
One of the severest consequences of the social breakdown due to land loss is increasing se- curity problems. This is reflected in increasing crime rates and conflicts.
But all this does not have to happen: According to a statement of the Lumad of Northwestern Mindanao quoted in the ADB report
p. 35ff, indigenous peoples cannot be poor if the following are present: • Forest for all their food and health needs;
• Peace; • The indigenous characteristic of helping one another in times of need;
• Knowledge about the forest; and • Indigenous systems and means to help them choose their own lifestyle.
The ADB report concludes by stating: Access to land and control over the ancestral landdomain is crucial for indigenous peo-
ples’ well-being. Moreover, the ancestral domain [communally owned land] provides the context and environment that make development possible. p. 60
We must point out, though, that while the ADB or World Bank have clearly identified the crucial role of land rights in addressing the poverty and marginalization of indigenous peoples,
this unfortunately does not mean that their policies actually conform with their own analysis and recommendations.
Special Raporteur Daes has concluded in paragraph 21 of her report: The gradual deterioration of indigenous societies can be traced to the non-recognition of
the profound relationship that indigenous peoples have to their lands, territories and re- sources, as well as the lack of recognition of other fundamental human rights.
Therefore, the recognition of indigenous peoples’ right to their land is crucial, not only for their physical but also for their cultural survival.
This is particularly relevant also for members of indigenous peoples who chose or were forced to migrate to cities in search of employment. Usually, they maintain close connection to
their villages of origin. Having this connection is important for them to maintain their identity and to withstand the assimilation pressure from the dominant society surrounding them.