This archive is intended to serve as a brief and very general introduction to each and every Indigenous Nation we've written about, here at Intercontinental Cry. In effect, these Nations represent the frontline of the world-wide movement to defend the earth.
Please Note: This archive is a work in progress. There are still many profiles that need to be written (in several cases, there is no information available on the internet, and what information is available is extremely biased). If you would like to help us finish the archive or if you want to have your Nation added to the list, please get in touch with us.
The Batwa (also known as the Abatwa or Abathwa) are the oldest known inhabitants of the Great Lakes region of central Africa. They are often referred to as "pygmies" due to their small stature. That term, however, is considered to be quite pejorative.
Currently: The Abatwa are losing about one percent of their population each year, and miscarriages are frequent because the Abatwa's health is so low and they have little or no access to aid, medicine, or social supports.
The Aché Peoples are traditional hunter-gatherers living in the Atlantic coastal forests of eastern Paraguay. The Aché are also known as the Axe people. In the past they have been called the Guaiaqui, Guayakí, Guayaki-Ache, and Guoyagui by Guaraní-speaking neighbors and by early anthropologists, however, these terms are now considered derogatory.
Before the 1960s, the Aché lived in small nomadic bands. Groups of allied bands with a common dialect, common rituals, and affinal relations formed a larger political unit known as irondy or "those who are like me." There were four of these groups living in eastern Paraguay at the time of peaceful contact in 1959: the Northern Aché, the Aché ua, the Aché pura, and the Ñacunday Aché. The Northern Ache roamed an area of about 18,500 square km between the Acaray River and the Jejui River drainage systems (Hill & Hurtado 1996: 49), while the Aché ua and Aché pura occupied a much smaller area south of the Northern Aché home range in the foothills of the Yvytyruzu Mountains. The core area of the Ñacunday Aché was approximately two hundred kilometers east of the Yvytyruzu Mountains in the headwaters of the Ñacunday River. [1]
The Aché have suffered repeated abuses by rural Paraguayan colonists, ranchers, and big landowners. For instance, in the 20th century, the Northern Aché were confined to two reservations that totaled a mere 50 square kilometers. Prior to this confinement, they were the only inhabitants of an area that spanned 20,000 square kilometers. In recent times, they have faced massacres, enslavement, and crushing isolation in order to make room for investors (mainly Brazilian) to move in and develop Aché lands. [2]
Today, the Ache reside on five reservations. Two communities have resident Catholic missionaries, two are associated with Protestant missionaries, and one has recently evicted Protestant missionaries and is independent.
The reservation economy is a mix of swidden agriculture (manioc, maize, and yams are the primary crops), foraging, and wage labor. [3]
1. http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/ache/people
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ach%C3%A9
3. http://www.unm.edu/~kimhill/papers/ache.html
The Achuar are an Amazonian People located on either side of the border in between Ecuador and Peru. The name Achuar means "the people of the Aguaje Palm".
Photo by Amazon Watch
Adivasi is an umbrella term for the indigenous population of India, including, for instance, the Dongria Kondh. There are at least 645 distinct Indigenous Peoples in India.
The Ahousaht are one of five Nuu-chah-nulth Nations based on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. "Ahousaht" is a Nootka word meaning "facing opposite from the ocean" or "people living with their backs to the land and mountains."
The Ainu , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo, are indigenous peoples of Japan now inhabiting parts of Hokkaido, Sakhalin, and the Kuril Islands. Historically, they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties. Official estimates of the population are of around 25,000; however, the unofficial number is much closer to 200,000 people.
The Akha are a hill tribe of subsistence farmers known for their artistry. Most of the remaining Akha people are now distributed in small villages among the mountains of China (where they are considered part of the Hani by the government, though this is a subject of some dispute among the Akha themselves), Laos (where they are considered Lao Sung), Burma, and northern Thailand, where they are one of the six main hill tribes.
The Akha have faced many controversies related to human rights and justice, particularly in the countries of Thailand and China. Their land is built upon hillsides considered valuable for both timber production and farming, and as such has been the target of seizure by government forces from both countries.
The Akha, like the other hill tribes, are viewed negatively by mainstream Thai people, generally referred to as "Egaw," a derogatory racial slur they find highly offensive. The use of the word is extremely commonplace and it is found on many tour websites and even in academic writings.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Akha PeoplesThe Akie are an ethnically and linguistically distinct Indigenous people predominantly living In Tanzania's vast Northern plains. In 2000 this group had a registered population of 5,268. The Akie are also known by the name Mosiro or as members of the Dorobo, an umbrella term for Indigenous groups hailing from Kenya and Tanzania. Locally they are known to the Maasai by the derogatory term 'Iltorobo'- meaning 'one without cattle.'
The Akie speak a Kalenjin dialect, part of the Niltoic group of languages. Their particular dialect suggests a relationship to Northern Kenyan tribes such as The Okiek, this has led to speculation about The Akie's historical migrations as the linguistic evidence would suggest that they moved southwards into Tanzania at some point.
With this move seems to have come a change in subsistence strategies. If they did indeed migrate southward in the past The Akie probably led a semi-nomadic existence practicing animal husbandry like the Maasai and other Doroban groups who keep cattle. However they are now Hunter Gatherers and small scale cultivators. The Akie are an example of the phenomena of groups returning to supposedly more 'primitive' strategies. This has proved an important factor in the 'Revisionist debate', helping to challenge notions that people like the Akie are backward rather than optimally adapted to their 'new' environment.
More recently The Akie's lifeways have changed once again. It has been ascertained that, post migration, they used to live in definite clan territories relating to notions of ancestral ownership and also to family access to resources such as Baobab and honey by family groups. Animals were however, free to be hunted by anyone revealing the openness of boundaries, probably necessary with regards to the harsh environment and variable rainfall. Today though The Akie's territory has decreased dramatically due to agricultural concessions, poaching and Maasai encroachment. This has limited Akie mobility and forced them into more permanent settlement and heavier reliance on cultivating crops such as Maize, however, as these crops are not reliable The Akie retain a great deal of knowledge of the flora and fauna of their home land.
The Akie are well known for their prowess as hunter gatherers. Chief amongst their impressive armory of skills is the symbiotic relationship they maintain with the Greater Honeyguide bird which they call to and subsequently follow in order to find honey which is of great social value to the group. After then climbing gargantuan trees, pacifying the bees all using only vine, axe and smoke the hunters leave a little honey and comb for the bird to ensure this special relationship continues.
Though they are commonly described by their Tanzanian countrymen as backward The Akie are fighting hard to maintain their traditional practices and the special link they have with their lands and environment they continue to rely on.
The Alangan are one of several Mangyan Indigenous Peoples in the Philippines. Predominantly living in the northern part of both Occidental and Oriental Mindoro provinces, the Alangan's population today is roughly 7,690.
Photo: http://allan.lissner.net
The Aleuts are Indigenous Peoples from the Aleutian archipelago, a 1,300-mile-long volcanic island extending from the Alaska Peninsula west nearly to Kamchatka.
The Aleuts refer to themselves as Unangan, a term closely associated with “coastline.” Russian fur traders named them Aleuts during the Russian fur trade period in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Aleuts are skilled at hunting and fishing in the harsh northern climate, something that was bitterly exploited by Russian fur traders. They received assistance and support from the Russian Orthodox missionaries subsequently and became closely aligned with Orthodox practices and beliefs. Despite this, an estimated 90 percent of the population was killed during the years of Russian fur trade.
During the nineteenth century the Aleuts were deported from the Aleutian Islands to the Komandorski Islands (now part of Kamchatka Oblast) by a Russian-American company. They were transferred to American citizenship late in the twentieth century after Alaska was purchased by the United States from Russia.
Fortunately, the Aleuts, with a population estimated at about 18,000 people, have retained much of their culture and language.
The Algonquin people call themselves either Omàmiwinini (plural: Omàmiwininiwak) or the more generalized name of Anicinàpe. Many Algonquins still speak the Algonquin language, called generally as Anicinàpemowin or specifically as Omàmiwininìmowin. The language is considered one of several divergent dialects of the Anishinaabe languages.
The term "Algonquin" is French, and may derive from the Maliseet word elakómkwik (IPA: [ɛlæˈɡomoɡwik]), "they are our relatives/allies". Alternatively, it may come from the Mi'kmaq word meaning "at the place of spearing fish and eels from the bow of a canoe." Another possibility is the Maliseet word for "dancers," which Samuel de Champlain might have mistaken for their tribal name while watching a combined Algonkin, Maliseet, and Montagnais victory dance in 1603.
The tribe has also given its name to the much larger, heterogeneous group of Algonquian-speaking peoples who stretch from Virginia to the Rocky Mountains and north to Hudson Bay, referred to as the Algonquian peoples. Popular usage reflects some confusion on this point, in that the term "Algonquin" has also been used to refer to all Algonquian-speaking societies.
Most Algonquins, however, live in Quebec. The nine Algonquin bands in that province and one in Ontario have a combined population of about 11,000.
The Alyawarra are one of more than 300 distinct Indigenous Peoples in Australia. Located in what is now the Northern Territory, members of the Alyawarra have been some of the most vocal opponent's of the Australian government's "NT Intervention".
The Amazigh are the Indigenous Peoples of Northwest Africa, with a population exceeding 30 million in what is now Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania, Mali, Morocco, Niger and Egypt.
The Amazigh are also known by the name “Berber”, a term that is derived from the Roman word for “barbarian”. Such a name was a given by Rome to anyone who did not speak Latin. Most Imazigen (plural of Amazigh) consider "Berber" to be extremely offensive. The term Amazigh, conversely, means "free man". 
Amuzgo, also spelled Amusgo, live near the Pacific Ocean, in the lower portions of the Sierra Madre del Sur, along the coasts of the Mexican states of Guerrero and Oaxaco. Their language is related to that of the Mixtec, their neighbors to the north and west.
The name "Amuzgo" comes from a Nahuatl word to which various interpretations have been given. According to one version, the term derives from amoxtli, "place of books or papers"; another version—perhaps a more plausible one—translates the word amoxko to mean "place of clouded water" (the greenish slime floating on the surface of rivers).
In 1990 the number of Amuzgo speakers was calculated at 32,637: 27,629 in the state of Guerrero and 5,008 in Oaxaca.
To learn more about the Amuzgo, visit www.everyculture.com
Anishinaabe or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek (which is the plural form of the word) is a collective term that refers to the Ojibway, Odawa and Algonkin Peoples, who all share closely related Algonquian languages.
There are many variant spellings of the name "Anishinaabe" which essentially means "First-" or "Original-People". For instance, among the eastern Ojibwe and Odawa, the name is realised as "Nishnaabe". The cognate word Neshnabé comes from Potawatomi, a people long allied with Odawas and Ojibwes; who together form the Council of Three Fires. Identified as Anishinaabe but not part of the Council of Three Fires are the Nipissing, Mississaugas and Algonquin.
The Saulteaux people of western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan are also Anishinaabe, a sub-tribe of the Ojibwe, but they often call themselves Nakawe(-k) and their form of the Anishinaabe language as Nakawemowin. Closely related to the Ojibwe and speaking a language mutually intelligible with Anishinaabemowin (Anishinaabe language) are the Oji-Cree (also known as "Severn Ojibwe"). However, their most common self-description is Anishinini (plural: Anishininiwag) and their language Anishininiimowin. 
The Anuak are a riverine people who live along the banks and rivers of southeastern Sudan and western Ethiopia, in the Gambela Region.
Most widely known by the name Apache (a word derived from the Zuni 'Apachu', meaning enemy) this name refers to a group of culturally related Native Americans. The Apache know themselves by the names Tineh, Dini, Inde, Deman and Haisndayin. Despite this, the monkier Apache has stuck in the minds of most and refers on the behalf of the Zuni to the famed ferocity and pride of this group.
Traditionally the Apache dwelt in the 'South West Culture Area' spanning a number of US states such as Texas and Colorado as well as parts of Mexico. Originally they would have spoken related Southern Athabaskan languages forming seven different language groups relating to geographical area. However, since the settlement of Indian populations into reservations linguistic cultures have merged and encountered the ubiquity of the American-English language leading to the breakdown of this classification. All seven Athabaskan languages are listed as endangered and Lipan is thought to be near extinct.
Evidence for the subsistence strategies of the Apache can be found early in their history as it is suggested that these groups were nomadic hunter gatherers, migrating southwards from other Athapascan groups speaking similar languages and operating some similar lifeways in Canada. Later some Apache took up some level of agriculture if they had come into contact with others using this strategy, however this was by no means a given as different Apache groups had quite distinct histories of migration, the Jicarilla Apache for example instead stole horses to hunt Buffalo on the Plains. Largely groups operated mixed economies utilising a number of physical and intellectual resources.
Though subsistence strategies may have remained diverse amongst the Apache, their reputation as fearsome warriors was far more ubiquitous. This was experienced by those Indian and settler farmers whom the Apache encountered and raided along their migratory route but was most spectacularly displayed post contact with Spanish, Mexican and American adversaries. Not only did the Apache hold off the Spanish and Mexicans advances, they repeatedly raided their colonial outposts during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Furthermore, perhaps the most enduring accounts of the Apache's bravery and skill come from the Apache Wars of the nineteenth century when they fought for their independence from US rule. Out of these conflicts came the compelling tales of Geronimo and Victorio who escaped reservations and mounted what proved to be acts of final resistance to their subjugation, and acting as a testament to the overwhelmed but freedom loving and proud Apache Nation. Geronimo embodied this spirit and the tragedy of the fate suffered by so many Native American groups when, upon his capture he remarked, “Once I moved about like the wind. Now I surrender to you and that is all.”
Away from the battlefield The Apache were also renowned basket weavers and crafts people, making brightly beaded clothing and adorning much that they owned. In addition they are notable for their musical traditions, most specifically for their playing of the Apache fiddle, Tsii edo'a'tl - 'wood that sings.'
Today man Apache still live on the original reservations designated to them in their old territiories, for example, the Fort McDowell reservation is still shared by the Mojave and Yavapai of Maricopa County. The Apache are now involved in the US cash economy and earn a living mostly through tribal enterprises such as tourism, saw mills, crafts and Casinos. They face many challenges and like other First Nations are engaged in a constant struggle to protect their lands and culture which have been sadly diminished already. One recent example is the Apache nations staunch opposition to Resolution Copper's mining project in South East Arizona which willfully endangers the Oak Flat and Apache Leap Sacred sites which are important burial grounds and campsites. The Apache fight goes on and they face it with the same resolve shown by some of their most esteemed ancestors.
Longtime allies of the Cheyenne, the Arapaho (who historically referred to themselves as Inuna-Ina), are an Algonquian-speaking people, based mostly in the Great Plains.
Today, there are two main Arapaho tribes: the Northern Arapaho, who number about 6000 and are concentrated in Wyoming, and the Southern Arapaho, who are united with the Cheyenne into the Cheyenne-Arapaho Nation in Oklahoma, with a combined 11,000 members.
Text adapted from native-languages.org
The Arará were known as great warriors and hunters and were largely nomadic; they depended on the ability of hunters to make ties and connections with groups of outsiders. Most of the Arará, also known as Ukarãngmã (or the '‘people of the red macaws'), reside in the Brazilian state of Pará.
The Arará language is from the Karib family. The Apiacá of the Tocantins (extinct), the Yaruma (extinct) and the Ikpeng are all part of the same linguistic family. The Arará were traditionally polygamous and spouses were chosen based on traditional socio-cultural norms. They do not bury their dead and instead build funeral platform homes in the forest.
Since the 1970s Arará have been driven off their land and forced to live in three villages where the National Indian Foundation has allowed fundamentalist missionaries to come in, bringing rapid and profound changes to the Arará way of life.
The community was severely impacted by the development of the Trans-Amazonian highway. The Arará population in 1998 was only 195, but has grown slightly since then, the community is so small that all descendants can trace their ancestry to one woman. Much of community life takes place in the Laranjal village plaza, where there are three recognized groups occupying five homes.
You can learn more about the Arará at http://www.minorityrights.org/?lid=5290
Long considered extinct, the Arawak people (from "aru", the Lucayan word for cassava flour) are one of several Indigenous Peoples from the West Indies. The Arawak were the first to encounter Christopher Columbus when he accidentally landed far away from the United States in 1492.
The Arhuaco, related to the Kogi and Arsario peoples, live in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada in Santa Marta near the San Sebastián de Rábago and on the river banks of the Sevilla, Aracataca and Fundación The Sierra Nevada is the highest coastal region in the world at almost 12,600 square kilometers, and has an extremely diverse climate with great biodiversity. The Arhuaco are also known as the Ika and their language is part of the Chibcha family. The Arhuaco grow coffee and sugar for their own consumption and participate in small animal husbandry (cattle, goats, pigs, and chicken). In order to marry, the man must live and work for his future father-in-law for one or two years. If the marriage does not take place after this period of time the man is given compensation for his labour. The Arhuaco consider neighbouring communities "little brothers." The spiritual leader or Mamu, lives separate from family and is responsible for solving community legal problems and providing religious counselling. There are 42 separate Arhuaco communities that are consolidated under the Tayrona Indigenous Federation.
In 1982 Arhuaco took action to evict a Roman Catholic mission which was attempting to prohibit use of national dress and language. In 1990 the Colombian military tortured and killed Arhuaco leaders. This unprovoked violence seems to have been generated in response to the activities of the leftist guerrilla group FARC.
The Arhuaco have been on the forefront of the indigenous movement. Since 1980 the lands of the Arhuaco have become the battleground between growers of illicit crops and the Colombian government. In 2004, the community was the site of a vicious bomb attack by the army. Spiritual leader Mariano Suárez Chaparrro was also assassinated the same year. But the greatest continuous threat to the Arhuaco is the growing military conflict in the region.
Source: Minority Rights Group
The Ariaal are northern Kenyan pastoralists. They are a combination of Samburu and Rendille Peoples, herding camels as well as cattle, sheep and goats. Due to their desert isolation, the Ariaal have been constantly "poked and prodded" by researches from around the world.
The Ashaninka have a long history of resistance, standing up to invaders since the time of the Inca empire until the rubber boom of the nineteenth century and, especially those on the Brazilian side of the border, resisting the encroaches of loggers from the 1980s to today. A people proud of their culture, driven by strong sense of freedom, ready to die in defence of their territory, the Ashaninka are no mere objects of western history. They possess an astonishing capacity to reconcile traditional customs and values with ideas and practices from the western world, such as those to do with socio-environmental sustainability.
You can learn more about the Ashaninka at http://pib.socioambiental.org/en/povo/ashaninka
Ashanti, or Asante, are an Akan people who live predominantly in Ghana and Ivory Coast. They speak Twi, an Akan dialect. Prior to European colonization, the Ashanti people developed a large and influential empire in West Africa. The Ashanti later developed the powerful Ashanti Confederacy or Asanteman and became the dominant presence in the region.
Today Ashanti number close to 7 million people (roughly 19% of the Ghanaian population, speaking Asante, also referred to as Twi, a member of the Niger–Congo language family.) Their political power has fluctuated since Ghana's independence, but they remain largely influential. The former president of Ghana, John Agyekum Kufuor is Ashanti. Kofi Annan, the past U.N secretary General was also raised and brought up in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti region. The majority of the Ashanti reside in the Ashanti Region, one of the administrative regions of the country. Kumasi, the capital of the current Ashanti region, has also been the historic capital of the Ashanti Kingdom. Currently, the Ashanti region of Ghana has a population of 3,812,950, making it Ghana's most populous administrative district.
The Ashanti strongly resisted attempts by Europeans, mainly the British, to subjugate them. The Ashanti aligned themselves with the Dutch to limit British influence in the region. Britain annexed neighbouring areas. The Ashanti were described as a fierce organized people whose king "can bring 200,000 men into the field and whose warriors are evidently not cowed by Snider rifles and 7-pounder guns"
Ashanti was one of the few African states able to offer serious resistance to European colonizers. Between 1823 and 1896, Britain fought four wars against the Ashanti kings (the Anglo-Ashanti Wars). In 1900, the British finally defeated the kingdom and incorporated it into the Gold Coast colony as a protectorate.
Text adapted from Wikipedia's article on the Ashanti people"In a media landscape made up of lies, flash, giant blind spots and corporatized sites of distraction, Intercontinental Cry is a trustworthy pathway to the truth where people who are committed to understanding Indigenous realities can gain insight and information to illuminate and activate their struggles."
Taiaiake Alfred
Except where otherwise noted, articles on this website are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Don't miss our latest free eBook:
Indigenous Struggles 2012: Dispatches From the Fourth World