Indigenous Rights are Land Rights are Human Rights
Indigenous rights are human rights. This article, in combination with a forthcoming interview, discusses how Indigenous communities are continuously disenfranchised by systemic injustices in Thailand and how individuals and networks work toward a more equitable world through creativity and solidarity.
UNDRIP: United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
On September 13, 2007, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Thailand voted Yes, joining 142 other countries out of 192 total voting powers.
The adoption of the declaration, however, does not reflect the lived experience of Indigenous peoples in the country. Many layers of intersectional injustice, starting with nonrecognition, are barriers to Indigenous communities receiving the same basic health, legal and social services as Thai people. To understand the entire scope of this issue, one must first understand the homogenization of the Thai identity and the consequential effects of not being considered a full Thai citizen.
Homogenization of identity
Thailand was never officially colonized, but instead experienced an internal colonization. At the time of global colonization, all royal, government and military power was centralized in Siam (a.k.a. Bangkok). For many reasons, Siam used its centralizing influence to unify all peoples in modern-day Thailand under one identity: Thai.
Identity encompasses the language spoken, food consumed and the larger cultural expression of a nation. And in the process of being internally colonized, everyone was encouraged by the king, King Chulalongkorn or King Rama V, to assimilate to the established Thai identity in order to reflect modernization. Thus, Thai people were educated under the Central Thai language system, people were registered as Thai citizens, and a central culture from Bangkok became the standard for Thai people.
What it means to be Thai is directly tied to this way of life and often means that cultural diversity is not recognized in a larger legal capacity. However, Thailand is an incredibly diverse country, with many Indigenous groups having lived and thrived across the region. In the north, many of these groups subsist largely through agriculture and have a culture completely unique to their ecological environment and history. Many have been in Thailand dating back some 400 years or more.
However, all of these Indigenous groups are not considered full Thai citizens. Instead, the Thai government categorizes them legally as “ethnic minorities.” As a result, they are not recognized as Indigenous groups and are not supported by the UNDRIP.
Additionally, they are not granted citizenship, so they lack legal protections and political representation within the country. Furthermore, they are unable to access many basic resources like healthcare services, education services, and uninhibited domestic and international travel. There are many other benefits to citizenship as well, but these are the main reasons why Indigenous groups continue to protest for full Thai citizenship.
Sustainability and land rights
In order to gain citizenship, Indigenous communities have to document proof of their existence. At the local level, communities have begun documenting their histories and geographical occupation to show their land use, conservation practices, and culture.
A 400-year-old mango tree standing tall in midday sky represents an important time marker for early village establishment. Location: Huay E-Khang, Mae Wang District in Chiangmai. (Photo Credit: Nili Barnoon, 2023)
One interesting way I've noticed the documentation can occur is through dating trees. At the village of Huay E-Khang, there is a 400-year-old mango tree that dates back to the early establishment of the village. In order for a mango tree to have lived for so long in such good health, often it requires the intervention of human care. Considering this tree was the only one of its kind in the surrounding area, it was apparent that it held special significance.
As climate change and sustainable development practices become increasingly important within Southeast Asia, many countries have begun to institute national conservation practices. Thailand has passed land conservation policies aimed at preserving the country’s remaining environmental resources. Many of these laws dictate that no one is allowed to utilize these resources or even live on the physical land without special permits and legal conditions. The areas affected are largely inhabited by Indigenous people, whose care of the forest and sustainable living practices have made the land a valuable conservation commodity in the eyes of the Thai government.
Displacement threatens traditional knowledge
Due to these direct policies, efforts to remove and displace communities from their land and subsistence practices are increasingly underway as the Thai government seeks to repurpose them for economic gain.These efforts include a strategy called territorialization, in which the governing body seeks to consolidate power by creating legal boundaries around existing resources.
The land Indigenous communities have been taking care of and living on is more resource abundant and biodiverse because of their intentional, sustainable approach. Centuries of traditional ecological knowledge about medicinal plants and agricultural practices are directly reflected in the day-to-day lives of these communities. Their livelihood is directly tied to the land.
The governmental policies, however, inherently mark Indigenous people as illegal residents and criminalize their way of life. There are also intentional confirmed efforts to remove people from their land, whether through direct or indirect means. Due to the displacement that these policies cause, these Indigenous communities are directly harmed and are unable to continue their cultural practices. They are also unable to maintain food security and sovereignty.
One wonders: How is it that the marginalized groups of Thailand are being displaced from their land, for which they have existed for centuries? And under the guise of sustainable conservation from a national perspective? When looking at this specific case, we can see how centralized power aimed at sustainable design often neglects to recognize the needs of those directly affected. Conservation as recognized and controlled by a state is not the perfect answer to sustainability.
Another facet of this is the imposition of commercialized agriculture in Indigenous communities. The influence of the government extends much further than just the centralized identity to include the implementation of agricultural projects in the mountainous communities. The government supported agricultural initiatives to grow imported crops, which are not native to the local environment, in these communities. And in order to be sold as organic, they must be treated with special care. One of the main drawbacks of growing these crops for export is that village peoples don’t have time to grow necessary food for themselves and cannot grow the native diverse species within the designated area.
Commercial agricultural project, imported organic lettuce crop, Huay E-Khang, Mae Wang District in Chiangmai. (Photo credit: Alyana Contant, 2023)
Solidarity in Community and Media Representation
Indigenous communities in Thailand have a variety of concerns. Their stateless or marginalized status makes it difficult for them to contest these policies and their cascading impacts. However, Indigenous groups have created solidarity amongst their communities on a national level to build support around these collective struggles. They have proposed a bill that will amend these harmful policies and acknowledge their existence as Indigenous. Many nonprofits founded and operated by Indigenous individuals also work to combat these systemic issues.
If you want to learn more, go to these resources:
Indigenous Peoples in Thailand (International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs)
Nittaya Mee, Inter Mountain Peoples Education and Culture in Thailand (IMPECT), Thailand
Phnom Thano (Thai Indigenous Journalist) On Hammer Show| Epi - 30
The second part of this series will feature an interview with Pi Phnom, an Indigenous journalist based in Northern Thailand.
