Indigenous Rights in Latin America: The Gap between Doctrine and Reality

Indigenous people are prevalent across Latin America, with numbers reaching upwards of 70 percent of the general population in certain countries. Given their strong ancestral ties to the land and cultural practices, these groups have remained hidden and isolated from mainstream populations and the forces of globalization. For many groups, the limited interactions between indigenous people and the outside world have sadly been harmful to the survival of these communities. The discovery and exploitation of oil and other natural resources have led to the destruction of property, culture, and lives of indigenous groups. The uprooting and extinction in some cases of these groups led to an international outcry for the development of indigenous rights. Numerous countries have enacted laws and the most substantive piece thus far has been the creation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UN DRIP) in 2007. However, there is currently a gap between the doctrine set out in these legal instruments and the enforcement and reality facing indigenous groups across Latin America.