I’ve seen a few people on Facebook say that because they were born in Australia and live in Australia, they are indigenous. They are not. They are not Aboriginal nor have any Aboriginal ancestry/heritage. Nevertheless, they are convinced they are “indigenous” by virtue of place of birth and current address.
Let’s clear this bullshit once and for all.
While no official definition has been adopted, the United Nations has developed a modern understanding of this term:
Practicing unique traditions, they retain social, cultural, economic and political characteristics that are distinct from those of the dominant societies in which they live. Spread across the world from the Arctic to the South Pacific, they are the descendants – according to a common definition – of those who inhabited a country or a geographical region at the time when people of different cultures or ethnic origins arrived. The new arrivals later became dominant through conquest, occupation, settlement or other means. [my emphasis]
~~~
Self- identification as indigenous peoples at the individual level and accepted by the community as their
member.
• Historical continuity with pre-colonial and/or pre-settler societies
• Strong link to territories and surrounding natural resources
• Distinct social, economic or political systems
• Distinct language, culture and beliefs
• Form non-dominant groups of society
• Resolve to maintain and reproduce their ancestral environments and systems as distinctive peoples and communities.
A quick Google search will reveal similar definitions.
So, please, don’t insult yourself and the indigenous people by calling yourself “indigenous” when you are not. To do so just displays a stunning lack of understanding, ignorance and is, frankly, quite embarrassing for you.
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