Seminar on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Peoples in Asia

11 July 2023 – 📣Less than two weeks to go before the Seminar on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Peoples in Asia!📣

In recent years, there has been a growing interest on Indigenous Peoples/Indigenous communities in the academia in Asia, although the term “Indigenous Peoples’” is still not being used by most States in the region. This (interest) is palpable with the emergence of national policies on Indigenous Education and Indigenous/Ethnic Studies Academic Programs and researches on Indigenous Studies in the sub-regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia.

This development has been generally received with jubilation by many state and non-state actors, including the activists and advocates of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. The latter see this an auspicious outcome of their protracted struggle for the advancement of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights. However, some have expressed concerns, if not outright skepticism especially on the idea of “mainstreaming” Indigenous Peoples’, Indigenous Studies and/or Indigenous Knowledge in the academe.

Some of the provocative questions include: How different are these academic initiatives from previous academic engagements on/with indigenous communities? How will these empower Indigenous Peoples/Indigenous Communities? Will this not result in another state and elite capture of indigenous knowledge/wisdom and Indigenous Peoples’ movements? What is the positionality of the academe with regard to the Indigenous Peoples’ Movements and local and global activism on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights?

These questions have to be deliberated in the academe, especially in universities that have already established or are still contemplating on instituting Indigenous Studies Programs in whatever form. It is in fact a moral responsibility of the universities to be transparent and self-reflexive about its initiatives especially in a rather contentious and controversial topic.

To excite you further, we have invited resource speakers from all over Asia to come and present their papers and research in indigenous studies.
If you’re interested in joining this two-day event, registration is still open! You can scan the QR code found below, or click this link to be redirected to the registration form: https://forms.gle/JXvwN3Wrht6apJES9

Please take note that this event is HYBRID. We will be providing the Zoom credentials after you register. Physical attendees will be limited due to the venue’s capacity.

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#IndigenousStudies #WaysofKnowing #IndigenousPeoples