Towards decolonisation: The United Nations, rights and Indigenous peoples

On 13th September 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted the United Nationals declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Described as "a triumph for justice and human dignity" it is the culmination of more than two decades of activism by Indigenous peoples globally. This unit examines why this Declaration was needed, how local activism has become global, how these macro decisions have an impact on the lived realities of Indigenous nations, their sovereign rights and struggles for justice. This landmark Declaration alerts us to the interconnections between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples, geographies, ecologies and colonisations. Reflections on your personal relationship to issues and their significance to global society will form the basis of your engagement with this unit. Taught through a blended learning style of online content and face-to-face workshops, this unit will offer a range of topics including, but not limited to introductions to the diversity and complexity of Indigenous nations, cultures and languages, understanding colonial histories, rights to country resources and knowledge, cultural and spiritual identity, and implanting the declarations through decolonial ethics.