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Jon M. Van Dyke
William S. Richardson School of Law
University of Hawaii at Manoa
This paper surveys the international law principles governing the rights of indigenous peoples, examining treaties, customary law, and the laws of relevant countries. It explains that indigenous people have the right to govern themselves, to control their lands and resources, and to be consulted whenever governments make decisions affecting them. These rights are grounded in international human rights treaties and especially in International Labor Organization Convention No. 169 Concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries. The mechanisms to enforce these norms of international law are still being developed, but consistent decisions have been rendered in recent years accepting the special status of native people.
In the United States, the distinct legal status of native peoples is recognized in the U.S. Constitution and in numerous statutes. Many native communities in the United States now have autonomy and a sound economic base, but Native Hawaiians are still seeking a return of the lands and resources taken from them when the Kingdom of Hawaii was overthrown by Westerners with the assistance of the U.S. government in 1893.
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