chapter 4

• Tens of thousands of years ago, the first immigrants entered South America from Asia and possibly Oceania. They spread across the continent and settled in different areas. These populations make up the indigenous people of South America, also referred to as Amerindians. They often have a strong identity: they attach great importance to the cultural characteristics of their own population group, including language and religion. Their identity is also linked to their habitat and way of life. However, this identity is under pressure, partly because they are being driven from their country.
• Postcolonial governments also stimulated the integration of Amerindians: they had to adapt to the dominant culture and become part of society. Some governments went even further and wanted assimilation: Amerindians had to leave their own cultural identity behind and adopt the identity of the dominant population group.
• Indigenous peoples live in all South American countries. However, the share of the total population differs greatly per country (see source 1). The causes of these divergent percentages are many. In Uruguay, for example, only a few thousand people lived before the arrival of the Europeans. Due to European diseases and attacks by European settlers, hardly any Amerindians remained. In other countries, many indigenous populations were spared precisely because they lived in remote areas. Examples are the Quichua and the Aymara in Bolivia and Peru, who lived in the inhospitable Andes region.
• Although the indigenous peoples have almost always lived in the countryside, the proportion living in the city has been increasing rapidly in recent decades. This is for several reasons. One is that they are driven off their land by the government or international companies (MNC’s). Also, they often live in poverty because their habitat has been reduced, destroyed or polluted by mining or forest clearing. They hope to be able to provide a better livelihood by living in the city.
• In general, indigenous peoples in South America score worse on various socio-economic indicators than non-indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, there are also differences between countries. A comparison between Peru and Suriname provides more insight into this.
• Peru

  Almost half of the Peruvian population belongs to an indigenous population group. Yet Amerindians hardly play a role in the economy and politics of the country. They face discrimination and political marginalisation, making them less likely to hold important political and economic positions. They also struggle more than the non-indigenous population groups with socio-economic problems such as poverty, malnutrition and illiteracy. Isolation, the absence of good and accessible schools, and the destruction of their habitats play a role in this.
• The indigenous people have never had rights to land and water until recently. As a result, the Amerindians lost much of their territories to European settlers and later to large agricultural companies. Formal recognition of these rights did not come until Peru signed UN Convention 169 in 1994, which protects the rights of the indigenous population.
•  In the early 21st century, Peru also passed several laws recognizing the rights of the indigenous people. Reservations have also been designated to protect isolated tribes. In practice it turns out to be difficult for Amerindians to actually get land rights. The Peruvian government has also granted concessions to foreign companies, including for oil extraction, which sometimes overlap with the habitats of the indigenous population.
• For several decades, the Amerindians have been organising themselves to claim their rights, supported by various international organisations. Sometimes they succeed in their actions. But despite all the promises and legal frameworks, indigenous peoples are still victims of displacement, pollution and destruction of their habitat.
• Suriname

  In Suriname, the indigenous population forms a relatively small group of about 20,000 people (see source 4). They too are on average poorer than the non-indigenous population. They are less educated, have lower incomes and are much less likely to hold important economic and political positions. In addition, many Amerindians depend on their habitat for their food supply. This is threatened due to the exploitation of natural resources.
• The Amerindians have few opportunities to resist this: Suriname is one of the few South American countries that has not signed UN Convention 169. Moreover, the legal system is still based on that of the colonial era, in which the indigenous population was never recognized and therefore has no rights.
• Since the beginning of this century, there has been more attention for the culture and rights of the indigenous population, including from the government, but actual protection of the indigenous population currently comes from international law. In 2015, for example, an important ruling was made by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights: the Surinamese government was summoned to recognize the land rights of all indigenous populations, to protect the Amerindian population and to restore an area that had been damaged by mining.