Abstract:

Modern migration of indigenous peoples is characterized by its complexity in response to new conditions of industrialized and globalized lives. Migrant indigenous peoples include individuals moving to more economically developed centres to seek opportunities, displaced communities and groups removed by force. This paper seeks to establish that indigenous peoples are a dynamic element of modern and centuries-old movements of peoples, raising questions for policymakers, indigenous activists and researchers alike. Why is indigenous migration important? How is indigenous migration changing indigenous cultures? Do they lose their identities as indigenous peoples when they leave their traditional lands? And how can we analyse indigenous migration according to existing categories of migration? The principal aim of the study is to provide a framework of the migratory experiences of indigenous peoples, as the terrain on this topic remains uneven. In some instances, there are well documented cases in academic research. Other areas lack information on specific indigenous experiences. At present, disaggregated data on indigenous peoples’ migration are not widely collected in a form that would allow researchers and policymakers to analyse the real spectrum of indigenous migration around the world.