ASIL Rights of Indigenous Peoples Interest Group
ASIL Interest Groups are organized by ASIL members for focused activity
in particular fields of international law. Membership in ASIL is
required for membership in ASIL Interest Groups.
The Interest Group on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples examines
the rights and status of indigenous peoples in international law,
helping to bring together scholars and activists to participate
in transnational information sharing and cooperation in this vital,
yet often overlooked, struggle. In a day and time where reactive,
defense issues dominate the interchange of ideas, emancipatory themes
of active empowerment have somewhat receded from the limelight of
international issues, and the indigenous peoples’ plight and
avenues of redress have been set back on the global political agenda.
Members of the Group have the opportunity to actively participate
in discussions related to goals of indigenous peoples’ struggles
for recognition and enhanced status under international law. The
Group aims to create a forum for those interested in the concerns
of indigenous people to discuss, assess and promote matters relating
to this critical topic. Through sponsorship of panels at the ASIL
Annual Meetings, the Interest Group has focused on the evolution
of standards on indigenous peoples' rights within international
organizations, on their right to self- determination, and on intellectual
property law as it relates to the heritage of indigenous peoples.
The group has also co-sponsored tribal sovereignty symposia with
the St. Thomas University School of Law, with findings published
in the St. Thomas Law Review, and endeavors to continue this type
of collaboration both in the United States and abroad.
