The terms indigenous customs and indigenous communities have been used by many parties—not only by those advocating for the rights of marginalized indigenous communities, but also by certain groups aiming to expand the power of elites, both in political power struggles and in the control of natural resources.
Problem Analysis
Indigenous communities remain victims of land grabbing by the state and companies exploiting people’s livelihood resources. This land grabbing occurs both in a blatant manner and subtly, leveraging laws and regulations to give an impression of legitimate seizure, whether in the name of increasing investment or addressing broader issues such as food and energy crises.
The resurgence of sultanate and kingdom groups has become one of the actors beginning to use indigenous issues to reclaim political power and control over lands. These groups do not oppose the indigenous people’s movement; in fact, they join the movement and consider indigenous communities as part of their kingdom and sultanate systems. Furthermore, there are indigenous institutions created by the government or certain political forces, which politicize indigenous customs to achieve their objectives.
Indigenous Community Indicators
In addressing the issues faced today, it is necessary to determine which indigenous communities will be “supported” by HuMa, namely: 1.) Indigenous communities that are victims of actions by the state, companies, and dominant forces within society that impact their access to land and other natural resources; 2.) Indigenous communities that respect the fundamental values of human rights, do not perpetuate gender inequality or engage in group violence against other communities, and work to preserve the environment; 3.) Indigenous communities that support equal control of land and other natural resources for their community members; and 4.) The indigenous community unit supported is based on the village or similar unit, not units based on kingdoms/sultanates or indigenous institutions formed by the government or certain groups to politicize tradition.
