August 9th marks the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, a yearly observance that has taken place since 1995. To learn more about Indigenous peoples and the rights of their communities, we reached out to SIS professor Ruslan Garipov to answer a few questions about his research and expertise.

What is the significance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples? How did this international observance day come about, and what does it mean for furthering and preserving Indigenous rights?

Indigeneity is a very important and sensitive issue today because of the multi-ethnic and multicultural composition of many modern nations across the globe. Indigenous peoples share common issues and face the same problems worldwide such as disappearing languages and cultural extinction along with increasing oppression and violence in some countries.

In the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations (UN) intensified its efforts to protect the rights of Indigenous peoples and international standards play a tremendous role in ensuring Indigenous peoples’ rights nowadays. If previously international law could be considered an instrument of colonialism and territorial conquest, today it is an important benchmark and a powerful driver in the development of national legislation aimed at protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples. 

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed each year on August 9 since 1995 following a recommendation by the UN Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. The date marks the first meeting of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations, which took place on August 9, 1982. The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples serves as an important benchmark to recognize Indigenous communities’ enduring struggles and contributions, while advancing their rights, preserving their cultures, and reaffirming their sovereignty in the face of ongoing marginalization.

Can you talk about the Land Back movement and the importance of recognizing Indigenous communities as stewards of the land? What consequences arise/have risen from not respecting Indigenous rights over their land?

Land rights are still the most important issue for Indigenous peoples worldwide. It is important to emphasize Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land and subsistence off its natural resources. Their lifestyle, which is rooted in sustainable development, requires a different way of thinking compared to most populations that do not rely on subsistence. Moreover, Indigenous peoples’ land rights is not just an issue about legal ownership over a territory but rather a matter of spiritual, cultural, economic, and ancestral connection to their traditional lands, which are essential for their identity, survival, self-determination, and way of life.

The Land Back movement is important for Indigenous peoples because it seeks to restore their control over ancestral lands that were taken during colonization without consent, and it aims to repair centuries of dispossession, cultural erasure, and environmental harm. Thus, the Land Back movement and Indigenous peoples’ land rights is not just about property, it’s about power, dignity, justice, healing, and the future of Indigenous nations on their own terms.

Your past research examined the relationship between Indigenous communities and extractive industries in the Arctic polar region. Can you summarize some of the key findings of this research and share any further findings you’ve uncovered over the past six years?

The rapidly changing dynamics between Indigenous communities and extractive industries in the polar region, along with diverse stakeholder expectations, highlight urgent issues like human rights, fair negotiations, and corporate responsibility, underscoring the need to bridge the gap between international investment law and Indigenous rights by aligning their goals and incentives. It is important to highlight that Indigenous peoples are not intrinsically vulnerable but because of external factors brought by modern society. Considering the climate change and industrial development in the Northern territories, many Indigenous groups are now in danger of disappearing because of a high risk of pollution and threats to their traditional way of life. Many of them move to the cities, where they often face social exclusion, discrimination, and assimilation. Indigenous peoples are highly susceptible to unemployment, face a variety of socioeconomic challenges, find it difficult to preserve their traditional activities, and often lose their native language and culture. Extractive industries, when guided by the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC), can play a constructive role in helping Indigenous communities in the Arctic to preserve their culture, language, and traditional activities along with addressing the critical social challenges they are facing.

What can/should various actors (governments, multilateral organizations, NGOs, civil society, etc.) do to ensure ongoing support for/protection of Indigenous rights?

Over the past three decades, the rights of Indigenous peoples have become an important component of international law and policy. It is a result of a global movement driven by Indigenous peoples, civil society, international mechanisms, and different states at the domestic, regional, and international levels. Bearing in mind that Indigenous peoples have experienced discrimination, the recognition of their rights is justified from an equality and non-discrimination perspective.

To ensure the ongoing support and protection of Indigenous rights, various stakeholders such as governments, international organizations, NGOs, and civil society should keep up with sustained and cross-sectoral efforts grounded in justice and respect helping to build Indigenous capacity and leadership. Educational measures should also be enacted broadly to eliminate and counter anti-Indigenous prejudices among other groups in the national community. To this end, steps should be taken to ensure that history textbooks and other educational and scientific materials provide a fair, accurate, and informative picture of Indigenous societies and their cultures.

Can you tell us more the class you teach at SIS, ‘Arctic Sustainable Development and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights’?

I have been an adjunct professor at American University’s School of International Service since 2015, teaching courses on Contemporary Russian Law and Politics, Arctic Sustainable Development, and Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. The Arctic is a rapidly evolving region because of climate change and industrialization. My class is designed to provide students special insights into the polar region, as it is also a home for many Indigenous communities who have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. By the end of the course, my students can identify the unique relationships between the Arctic Indigenous peoples and their environments, using the conceptual framework of traditional knowledge and explain how these relationships shape the Arctic perspectives on important global issues, such as natural resource management, environmental conservation, global climate change, energy extraction, economic development, and Indigenous peoples’ rights.