Many people are under the impression that the international arena and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) provide a path of decolonization, a leverage Indigenous nations and peoples can use to their... more
Many people are under the impression that the international arena and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) provide a path of decolonization, a leverage Indigenous nations and peoples can use to their advantage. Few people appreciate that "international law" originated in the fifteenth century as the "Law of Nations," also known as the "Law of Christendom," an idea-system of nation-state domination over non-Christian peoples. This Redthought focuses on understanding the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the broad history of the claim of a right of domination by "States" over Indigenous nations and peoples. We will explore the practical implications of the UN Declaration's assertion of "human rights" and "fundamental reform." We will ask, What has happened to the claim of a right of domination by "States"?
