International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples

A law student and activist from the United States is using her personal experience in the foster care system to fuel her advocacy for Indigenous children.

Autumn Adams of the Yakama Nation took part in a UN virtual event on Wednesday to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, which this year focused on youth as agents of change.

“I believe children are our future. We don’t have a future without the next generation,” she said, speaking from the southwestern state of Arizona after the event.

Countries should not be afraid to strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples as guaranteed by a UN Declaration adopted a decade ago, a UN Special Rapporteur has urged.

The Declaration, adopted in 2007, is a compilation of “tears and complaints” brought by the indigenous peoples to the attention of world leaders, Victoria Tauli Corpuz said.

When it comes to true educational equality for the world’s indigenous peoples, nation states need to “work together” with local leaders and embrace their common heritage.

That’s the view of Karla Jessen Williamson, an Inuit from Greenland, who is the former Executive Director of the Arctic Institute of North America and currently an academic at the University of Saskatchewan, in Canada.

Aboriginal women in Australia are facing what has been described by a leading rights advocate as “dual discrimination.”

The indigenous peoples of Australia make up less than 5 per cent of the country’s total population.

Many face intolerance because of their ethnic background; women face the extra element of discrimination because of their gender.

Awareness of the rights of indigenous people in Nepal is increasing, but more needs to be done to ensure they have access to a range of services, according to an activist from the Asian nation.

Nepal has 59 recognised indigenous groups, making up around 40 per cent of the population.

The international community recently gathered at the United Nations in New York to mark the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, celebrated annually on 9 August.