BETRAGTNINGER OVER KATEGORIEN INDFØDTE FOLK

Abstract

Jens Dahl: Reflections on the category of

Indigenous peoples

The article deals with the development of the

category indigenous peoples and with indigenous

peoples’ position both within the

thought system of the Western World and

within the current work in the United Naions.

It argues that the category has been

created by forces in the hegemonic society,

but the term has been adopted by indigenous

peoples themselves, who recognize their

common conditions. The term also relates to

the process of decolonization and the creation

of new States after the Second World War.

Indigenous peoples’ demand for self determination

is related to the State within which

they live, and should not be understood as a

violent or revolutionary demand for secession,

but as a fundamental right to determine

one’s own life and future.