Individual and Collective Self-Identification as Indigenous in the European Arctic: International Legal Perspectives

Who is indigenous is a question which is often difficult to answer from the perspective of non-indigenous law. Lovelace v. Canada is one of the key cases of indigenous rights law. It forms an important precedent but it does not establish an unlimited subjective right to be indigenous within the fram...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kirchner, Stefan
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2018
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Online Access:https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/oaiart?codigo=6997372
Description
Summary:Who is indigenous is a question which is often difficult to answer from the perspective of non-indigenous law. Lovelace v. Canada is one of the key cases of indigenous rights law. It forms an important precedent but it does not establish an unlimited subjective right to be indigenous within the framework of the ICCPR. The decision in Lovelace v. Canada cannot be construed as requiring states which are parties to the ICCPR to allow anybody to claim indigenous identity without the consent of the indigenous people in question. ILO 169 strengthens the position of indigenous peoples in this regard. Self-identification has multiple dimensions: collective self-identification as indigenous, individual self-identification as indigenous and collective identification of the self through the identification of an individual as indigenous. Only indigenous peoples can decide who is a member. This decision is a sovereign right of the collective. Quién es indígena es una cuestión que a menudo es difícil de contestar desde la perspectiva del derecho no indígena. Lovelace c. Canadá es uno de los casos claves de derechos indígenas. Es un precedente importante, pero no establece un derecho subjetivo ilimitado de ser indígena en el marco del PIDCP. La decisión de Lovelace v. Canadá no puede interpretarse como un precedente para que los Estados partes del Pacto puedan permitir que alguien reclame la identidad indígena, sin el consentimiento del pueblo indígena en cuestión. El Convenio 169 de la OIT refuerza la posición de los pueblos indígenas en este sentido. La autoidentificación tiene múltiples dimensiones: la colectiva, la individualy lacolectiva del yo a través de la identificación de un individuo como indígena. Sólo los pueblos indígenas pueden decidir quién es uno de sus miembros. Esta decisión es un derecho soberano del colectivo.