Indigenous peoples: resistance and resilience

Abstract

In the world there are more than 476 million people who define themselves as indigenous, which are distributed in about 90 countries. In Latin America there are more than 400 groups, each with its own language and culture. The highest concentration of indigenous peoples is found in Asia and the Pacific, they represent 70% of the total and 6% of the world population, but they constitute 15% of those living in poverty (World Bank, 2021). Indigenous peoples have deep, varied knowledge of the natural environment with local roots, traditional indigenous lands and territories shelter and protect nearly 80% of the planet's biodiversity, have ancestral experiences on how to adapt, mitigate and reduce risks arising from climate change and natural disasters. These peoples, also called native peoples, are often the object of discrimination, over the centuries, they have been dispossessed of their lands, territories and resources and consequently have often lost control over their own way of living, for this reason , improving land tenure security, strengthening good governance, promoting public investment in good-quality and culturally appropriate services, and supporting indigenous resilience and livelihood systems are all crucial steps to reduce multidimensional issues of the poverty of the indigenous communities that have physically, morally and culturally resisted centuries of abuses and arbitrariness suffered against them, to preserve their territories, identity, beliefs, customs, languages and culture, in short, their ways of life bequeathed by their ancestors. In this sense, resilience distinguishes two components: resistance against destruction, that is, the ability to protect one's own integrity, under pressure and, on the other hand, beyond resistance, the ability to forge a positive vital behavior despite the difficult circumstances.