Indigenous cultures
There is no universally agreed name for the peoples whose lives,
conditions and aspirations are [described] … as first peoples, because
their ancestors were the original inhabitants of their lands, since
colonized by foreigners. … [Many refer to them as] indigenous, a term
widely accepted by the peoples themselves, and now adopted by the
United Nations (Burger, 1990, p. 16).
Today’s indigenous peoples are the descendants of the traditional owners
and occupiers of a country or region. They demonstrate diversity in culture,
religion and socio-economic organisation, both historically and currently. Many