El Mundo Indígena 2000-2001

This annual publication (published separately in English and Spanish) examines political, social, environmental, and educational issues concerning indigenous peoples around the world in 2000-01. Part 1 describes current situations and events in 11 world regions: the Arctic; North America; Mexico and Central America; South America; Australia and the Pacific; north, east, central, and southern Africa; south Asia; and east and southeast Asia. In general, indigenous peoples worldwide were dealing with issues related to land rights, self-determination, relations between central government and indigenous communities, outright oppression and violence, environmental degradation and destruction by economic development projects, communal rights, women's rights, access to appropriate education and to health care, and preservation of indigenous cultures and languages. Articles of educational interest on the Arctic and the Americas discuss the shortage of Greenlandic-speaking college graduates in Greenland and related issues of language use; support for Saami language use in Sweden and Finland; shortages of schools and teachers in indigenous areas of arctic Russia; implementation of Inuit traditional knowledge and the Inuktitut language in all government functions in Nunavut; efforts of the Innu Nation in Labrador to gain control of education; poor condition of educational facilities on U.S. American Indian reservations; little progress on Mayan demands for culturally relevant education in Guatemala; controversy over scientific research on indigenous lands in Venezuela; and Mapuche student protests in Chile. Other education-related articles discuss efforts to preserve Amazigh culture and language in Morocco, Algeria, and Libya; implementation of education programs for San children in Namibia; native language instruction in Botswana villages; demands for equal language rights in Nepal; need to establish a new education system and language policy in East Timor; and educational policies for ethnic minorities in Cambodia and Vietnam. Part 2 reports on United Nations work on indigenous rights and the proposed integration of nonindependent countries in U.N. activities. (SV).