By CS Staff

On December 9, the International Day of Commemoration of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide, it is important to acknowledge that genocide can take different forms—but it is always destructive. 

Genocide is more than just the destruction of an entire people. It is the destruction of a people’s unique culture, language, traditions, and beliefs. Forced assimilation is also a part of this process, which frequently includes the removal of children and separation of families, psychological violence, prevention of the ability to lead a traditional lifestyle, perverted notions of cultural values, and the imposition of moral principles by outsiders.

The genocide of Indigenous Peoples has been going on for hundreds of years and continues to this day. It is not only the deliberate destruction of the Peoples, but also the removal of their traditional territories and the destruction of their lands by the State in favor of the economic needs and benefits of big business and extractive companies.

Removal of children, bans on speaking one’s mother tongue, and bans on cultural and religious practices, traditional ceremonies, and dances are all forms of genocide that persist around the world. Entire cities, towns, and Indigenous groups have been destroyed as a result of colonial policies and practices.

During the era of colonization by European powers, most of the Indigenous and Aboriginal Tribes that survived genocide were greatly diminished due to losses sustained in battle and from foreign diseases. The killings, disease epidemics, and land dispossession had disastrous effects on Indigenous populations, with some Tribes virtually wiped off the face of the earth.

Centuries later, reservation systems and residential boarding schools where children were forcibly removed from their families for purposes of cultural assimilation were often accompanied by physical and emotional abuse, which eventually led to recognition of the genocidal nature of these actions. In Canada, more than 150,000 Indigenous children were forcibly separated from their families and taken to residential schools where they were held in inhumane conditions. Thousands of those children went missing, and many survivors were forever traumatized by the violence, a grim reality confirmed by the discovery of 1,308 unmarked graves—mostly belonging to children—on the grounds of the former boarding schools. The total number of deaths may be anywhere from 6,000-25,000, another terrible proof of this cultural genocide.

The genocide of Indigenous Peoples is not limited to historical events. Contemporary practices of forced assimilation, oppression of language and culture, and destruction of land and resources continue to threaten many Indigenous Peoples, in addition to systemic injustices that worsen their socio-economic situation.

Indigenous Peoples continue to be subjected to genocide through the criminalization and violent killing of their land and rights defenders, enforced disappearances and other catastrophic human rights violations, expansion of their territories of traditional ways of life, and environmental disasters on their lands and territories.

Indigenous Peoples are often dispossessed of the lands and territories where they live and practice their traditional way of life. This happens under pressure from governments granting resource extraction licenses without the Free, Prior and Informed Consent of the Indigenous communities, violating their rights to land and self-government.

Extractive companies that have come to Indigenous Peoples’ lands have caused serious damage to ecosystems, leading not only to the destruction of the natural resources necessary for the lives of Indigenous Peoples, but also to long-term environmental consequences, which are reflected in the deterioration of the quality of their traditional diets and health and an increase in the number of diseases in subsequent generations. 

Along with the destruction of the environment and loss of biodiversity, there is a loss of cultural traditions, languages, knowledge systems, and customs associated with these territories and ecosystems. This genocide is accompanied by ethnocide, a policy aimed at destroying the cultural identity and self-determination of an Indigenous Peoples. It must be remembered that when people are exterminated or forcibly removed from their home, their culture and language also die with them.

Recognizing and appreciating the magnitude of the problem is the first step toward addressing it. We must support Indigenous Peoples by recognizing their rights to their lands, territories, resources, traditions, cultural practices and ceremonies, knowledge transmission systems, self-determination, and self-government. Above all, States must support these efforts in order to prevent further acts of violence and injustice and adhere to international standards of human rights. 

Read: Philanthropy Open Letter for Humanity and Justice in Palestine and Israel