The Internationalization of Indigenous Rights from the Environmental and Human Rights Perspective

By focusing on the conflicts between Indigenous rights and environmental protection, the author chronicles the extent and scope of conceptions of Indigenous rights within the international community. The article begins with an overview of the international community's definition of Indigenous peoples. The paper then narrows its focus to consider the position of Indigenous peoples in North America, chronicling the history of racism that has led to the current marginalized situation of Indigenous peoples. The development of environmental and Indigenous rights law is indicative of a trend towards the international community requiring action from local governments. Although not specifically focusing on Indigenous women, the discussion in this article is still generally relevant for this topic.