Wednesday, January 05, 2005, 19:39 GMT
I don't want to offend anyone, but I believe that indigenous is actually a very suitable term.
The definition of indigenous is "native to an area, occurring naturally", which is exactly what aboriginal people are.
In fact, 'indigenous peoples' is the term used by the United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, etc. When they use it, the term expressly means the people of a region who lived there prior to colonization in historical times.
So for example, Malayo-Polynesians are classified at the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, even though Han Chinese have colonized and controlled the island for hundreds of years. The same goes for the Ainu in parts of Japan.
I can understand if you want to use the terms 'aboriginal' 'first nations' etc. but I believe indigenous is also useful.
The definition of indigenous is "native to an area, occurring naturally", which is exactly what aboriginal people are.
In fact, 'indigenous peoples' is the term used by the United Nations, UNESCO, UNICEF, etc. When they use it, the term expressly means the people of a region who lived there prior to colonization in historical times.
So for example, Malayo-Polynesians are classified at the indigenous peoples of Taiwan, even though Han Chinese have colonized and controlled the island for hundreds of years. The same goes for the Ainu in parts of Japan.
I can understand if you want to use the terms 'aboriginal' 'first nations' etc. but I believe indigenous is also useful.