Matthew McDaniel
Encyclopedia
Matthew McDaniel is an American
indigenous rights
activist, formerly a carpenter, working to improve human rights for the Akha people of Thailand
and Laos
. He is the founder of the Akha Heritage Foundation. He lived in Thailand from 1991 to 2004.
On April 18, 2004, he was arrested at Thailand's border with Burma by Thai immigration authorities, jailed for nine days, and then deported. In July 2005 he moved from the USA back to Laos. His Thai Akha wife and children left Thailand and went to Laos to be with him. After his wife and children received visas, the family relocated to the United States in May 2006. A December 22, 2005 Keizer Times article reported on the difficulty in getting the visas.
McDaniel is opposed to what he claims are missionary
efforts to rewrite Akha history and eradicate their culture. This includes a language and oral history, which he says are critical components to their unique identity. He opposes coercive missionary conversion tactics, and the removal of Akha children from their families and villages. He has frequently questioned why charities such as Rotary International
support certain missionary groups. McDaniel has asserted that Rotary International has since pulled their web pages supporting the funding of the Children of the Golden Triangle Mission. McDaniel also asserted that UNESCO
was working with US missionaries who were "destroying Akha culture".
A May 15, 2004 Asia Times
article reported:
A January 2003 Village Voice article described him as "the evangelicals' fiercest critic in Chiang Rai
."
Half Moon Bay Review reported in a May 2009 article:
of Salem, Oregon
:
and Laos
. McDaniel has filed reports with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
, and the International Criminal Court
.
He documented extrajudicial killings during the anti-drugs push of Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
in 2003.
For example, Matthew McDaniel and three of his associates (Itaru Furuta, Katharine Ricke, and Lisa Friedland) documented the June 20, 2003 killing of Leeh Huuh. McDaniel reported:
The first photo below is of Leeh Huuh and his wife in 2002. The next three photos are of Leeh Huuh's body on June 20, 2003. The last photo is of two Akha wives whose husbands had been killed earlier that day of June 20, 2003. Leeh Huuh's wife is on the right side. Matthew McDaniel took the photos.
Thailand's English-language newspaper The Nation
reported on the drug war in November 2007:
Prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said "it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed."
The January 24, 2008 edition of The Economist
reported that "over half of those killed in 2003 had no links to the drugs trade. The panel blamed the violence on a government 'shoot-to-kill' policy based on flawed blacklists. But far from leading to the prosecutions of those involved, its findings have been buried. The outgoing interim prime minister, Surayud Chulanont
, took office vowing to right Mr Thaksin's wrongs. Yet this week he said there was insufficient evidence to take legal action over the killings. It is easy to see why the tide has turned. Sunai Phasuk, a researcher for Human Rights Watch
, a lobbying group, says that the panel's original report named the politicians who egged on the gunmen. But after the PPP
won last month's elections, those names were omitted."
The New York Times
reported on April 8, 2003:
On March 4, 2008 the Asia Sentinel
reported:
. The full Michu Uaiyue statement (translated by Matthew McDaniel) is here: http://www.docip.org/Permanent%20Forum/pfii5_81.PDF http://old.docip.org/Permanent%20Forum/pfii5_81.PDF
From the description page for the May 26, 2006 United Nations
satellite television feed is this info about the statement:
Below are some photos taken by Matthew McDaniel in May 2006 at the United Nations. Click to enlarge them, and to see the captions. Click again to enlarge further.
) reported that Matthew McDaniel would ride by horseback across the USA to raise awareness of the Akha. The article reported: "He plans to start his journey in Lincoln City
, making his way to Los Angeles
and New Orleans before finally ending up at the United Nations
headquarters in New York City. All told he plans to travel some 4,500 miles. He said the ride could take seven months or more."
Here follows a quote from a November 30, 2007 Salem Monthly
article (in Salem, Oregon
):
The McDaniel family's "Ride for Freedom" via horseback and bus began in Oregon March 6, 2009. On riding days McDaniel rode the horse, Hampton. He then hitchhiked back to a large touring-size bus where his family was located. There were found his Akha wife, Michu Uaiyue, and their 5 children aged 8 to 2. McDaniel then drove the bus to the horse. Then when ready he rode the horse another day. By May 5, 2009 the family had arrived in Half Moon Bay
, California (20 miles south of San Francisco).
Hampton the horse is 17.2 hands high and eats 20 pounds of feed a day. A daily ride was around 20 to 25 miles, although they did 60 miles one day. McDaniel mapped the route with his iPhone. Concerning Hampton, he stated: "You have to make a deal with a horse. You can't fake it."
A May 13, 2009 Santa Cruz Sentinel
article reported that McDaniel's web site included a journal of the trip. The article also stated:
The Akha Heritage Foundation web site links to McDaniel's official YouTube channel that has many videos of the ride. On day 300 (Dec. 30, 2009) McDaniel was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
, and had Hampton's horseshoes replaced again.
On day 382 (Monday, March 22, 2010) McDaniel arrived in New York City
. The Keizer Times reported: "By noon he had hit Times Square
, Rockefeller Center
, the United Nations
and finally Central Park
, where he had arranged for someone to pick up him and his horse for a respite in rural New Jersey
."
The next step is the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
in New York City in April 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
indigenous rights
Indigenous rights
Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the preservation of their land, language, religion and other elements of cultural...
activist, formerly a carpenter, working to improve human rights for the Akha people of Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. He is the founder of the Akha Heritage Foundation. He lived in Thailand from 1991 to 2004.
On April 18, 2004, he was arrested at Thailand's border with Burma by Thai immigration authorities, jailed for nine days, and then deported. In July 2005 he moved from the USA back to Laos. His Thai Akha wife and children left Thailand and went to Laos to be with him. After his wife and children received visas, the family relocated to the United States in May 2006. A December 22, 2005 Keizer Times article reported on the difficulty in getting the visas.
McDaniel is opposed to what he claims are missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
efforts to rewrite Akha history and eradicate their culture. This includes a language and oral history, which he says are critical components to their unique identity. He opposes coercive missionary conversion tactics, and the removal of Akha children from their families and villages. He has frequently questioned why charities such as Rotary International
Rotary International
Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...
support certain missionary groups. McDaniel has asserted that Rotary International has since pulled their web pages supporting the funding of the Children of the Golden Triangle Mission. McDaniel also asserted that UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
was working with US missionaries who were "destroying Akha culture".
A May 15, 2004 Asia Times
Asia Times
Asia Times was a newspaper launched in Thailand by Thai tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul in 1995. The newspaper hired talent from around the world to produce a regional English-language newspaper....
article reported:
McDaniel estimates that more than 100 organizations are proselytizing. "There's way too many missionaries coming. It's become a free-for-all. They come in with money from their home churches, with four-wheel drives, living like kings, like they never would back home," said McDaniel, whose forthright campaign upset many people, spurring whispers about his motives. McDaniel was reportedly deported by Thai authorities after being interviewed for this article; the reasons for the deportation are unclear.
A January 2003 Village Voice article described him as "the evangelicals' fiercest critic in Chiang Rai
Chiang Rai
-Demographics:Official Population count: According to the Thailand National Statistical Office, as of September 2010, Chiang Rai municipal district has a population of 199,699...
."
Since moving to Thailand 15 years ago, McDaniel has started a small nongovernmental organization called the Akha Heritage Foundation. With an annual budget of $6000, the group provides services that range from the establishing of fish farms and publishing books in the Akha language to documenting human rights violations.
Half Moon Bay Review reported in a May 2009 article:
Bruno, a San Francisco resident, teamed up with McDaniel on what she calls “guerilla aid style” missions to usher medical supplies across the Thai-Burmese border to Akha people. Both were fighting a common enemy – exploitation and oppression – one with a knapsack full of medicine, the other with a video camera. She remembers watching McDaniel motorbike across the border alongside black market traders and sex traffickers, wearing a leather cowboy hat and shouldering a knapsack packed with bandages and ointments for homeless Akha.
Motivations
The following is from an interview with Matthew McDaniel reported in the November 12, 2007 edition of the Statesman JournalStatesman Journal
The Statesman Journal is the major daily newspaper published in Salem, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1851, the Oregon Statesman later merged with the Capital Journal to form the current newspaper, the second-oldest in Oregon. The Statesman Journal is distributed in Salem, Keizer, and much of...
of Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
:
Question: Where did your passion for the Akha come from?
Answer: I was on a bridge that connects Burma and ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, and I saw a policeman riding his motor bike and come up behind a little child walking down a dusty street begging for money for his mother. As the policeman went by on the motor bike, I saw him grab the child by the back of the head and slam him face first into the concrete. The little boy later died.
Drug War
McDaniel accuses the "US Drug War" and the UN Office of Drugs and Crime for helping cause the arrest, forced dislocation, prosecution, starvation, death and extrajudicial killings of Akha people in ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
. McDaniel has filed reports with the United Nations Commission on Human Rights
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was a functional commission within the overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006...
, and the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
.
He documented extrajudicial killings during the anti-drugs push of Thailand's prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
in 2003.
For example, Matthew McDaniel and three of his associates (Itaru Furuta, Katharine Ricke, and Lisa Friedland) documented the June 20, 2003 killing of Leeh Huuh. McDaniel reported:
- "TODAY. Two days ago Leeh Huuh, other son of Ah Nah Burh Chay and Loh Pah Ah Sauh were called to the Phrao police station. The police left a notice with Loh Pah's wife which she had to sign. TODAY at 8am these two men left for the police station. They were ambushed on the road and shot to death. We saw the bodies which we photographed. Police at Phrao police station denied knowledge of the details of the case that we already knew."
The first photo below is of Leeh Huuh and his wife in 2002. The next three photos are of Leeh Huuh's body on June 20, 2003. The last photo is of two Akha wives whose husbands had been killed earlier that day of June 20, 2003. Leeh Huuh's wife is on the right side. Matthew McDaniel took the photos.
Thailand's English-language newspaper The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...
reported on the drug war in November 2007:
Of 2,500 deaths in the government's war on drugs in 2003, a fact-finding panel has found that more than half were not involved in drugs at all. At a brainstorming session, a representative from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Tuesday disclosed that as many as 1,400 people were killed and labeled as drug suspects despite the fact that they had no link to drugs.
Prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said "it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed."
The January 24, 2008 edition of The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
reported that "over half of those killed in 2003 had no links to the drugs trade. The panel blamed the violence on a government 'shoot-to-kill' policy based on flawed blacklists. But far from leading to the prosecutions of those involved, its findings have been buried. The outgoing interim prime minister, Surayud Chulanont
Surayud Chulanont
General Surayud Chulanont is a Thai political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's Interim Government between 2006 and 2008...
, took office vowing to right Mr Thaksin's wrongs. Yet this week he said there was insufficient evidence to take legal action over the killings. It is easy to see why the tide has turned. Sunai Phasuk, a researcher for Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, a lobbying group, says that the panel's original report named the politicians who egged on the gunmen. But after the PPP
People's Power Party (Thailand)
The People's Power Party was a Thai political party founded on November 9, 1998 by Police Lieutenant Colonel Garn Tienkaew. The party leader was Somchai Wongsawat, the Party Secretary General was Surapong Suebwonglee, and the Party Spokesperson was Kuthep Saikrajarng...
won last month's elections, those names were omitted."
The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
reported on April 8, 2003:
Since the death of 9-year-old Chakraphan, there have been frequent reports in the Thai press of summary executions and their innocent victims. There was the 16-month-old girl who was shot dead along with her mother, Raiwan Khwanthongyen. There was the pregnant woman, Daranee Tasanawadee, who was killed in front of her two young sons. There was the 8-year-old boy, Jirasak Unthong, who was the only witness to the killing of his parents as they headed home from a temple fair. There was Suwit Baison, 23, a cameraman for a local television station, who fell to his knees in tears in front of Mr. Thaksin and begged for an investigation into the killing of his parents. His stepfather had once been arrested for smoking marijuana, Mr. Suwit said. When the police offered to drop the charge if he would admit to using methamphetamines, he opted instead to pay the $100 fine for marijuana use. Both parents were shot dead as they returned home from the police station on a motorbike. Mr. Suwit said 10 other people in his neighborhood had also been killed after surrendering to the police.
On March 4, 2008 the Asia Sentinel
Asia Sentinel
Asia Sentinel is a web-based Asian regional publication focused on news, business, arts and culture. The site was launched in August 2006....
reported:
The first war on drugs, as it was known, pretty much evolved into a war on anybody the police decided to shoot. Under former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, more than 2,800 people were killed over a three-month period five years ago —about twice the normal murder rate of about 500 per month. Appointed Premier Surayud ChulanontSurayud ChulanontGeneral Surayud Chulanont is a Thai political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's Interim Government between 2006 and 2008...
half-heartedly set up a commission to investigate the drugs war nearly a year after the coup, but it had the effect of absolving the Thaksin administration. The committee found that about 1,370 of those deaths were related to drugs, while 878 were not. Another 571 people were killed for no apparent reason, according to the panel, and police investigated just 80 of those cases.
United Nations
On May 18, 2006 Matthew McDaniel and his Akha wife, Michu Uaiyue, presented a statement at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous IssuesUnited Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the UN's central coordinating body for matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples. "Indigenous person" means native, original, first people and aboriginal. There are more than 370 million indigenous...
. The full Michu Uaiyue statement (translated by Matthew McDaniel) is here: http://www.docip.org/Permanent%20Forum/pfii5_81.PDF http://old.docip.org/Permanent%20Forum/pfii5_81.PDF
From the description page for the May 26, 2006 United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
satellite television feed is this info about the statement:
4. SOUNDBITE (Akha) Michu Wurh Zurh, Director Akha Heritage Foundation translated by her husband Matthew McDaniel (English):
"She says that because the Thai forestry department has taken about all the land there is no food and a lot of people have to go to places like Bangkok and work in slave jobs in order to get money to survive because of the food situation that the Thai government has created for the Akha people."
5. Close up Michu’s son in Akha outfit
6. Close up, Jerry Eaglefeather plays on the flute for 4 Akha children, ages 7, 5, 3 and 1
7. Close up, Akha children applaud
Below are some photos taken by Matthew McDaniel in May 2006 at the United Nations. Click to enlarge them, and to see the captions. Click again to enlarge further.
Horseback ride across USA
A November 30, 2007 Keizer Times article (in Keizer, OregonKeizer, Oregon
Keizer is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States, along the 45th parallel. It was named for Thomas Dove and John Brooks Keizer, two pioneers who arrived in the Wagon Train of 1843, and later filed donation land claims. The population was 36,278 at the 2010 census...
) reported that Matthew McDaniel would ride by horseback across the USA to raise awareness of the Akha. The article reported: "He plans to start his journey in Lincoln City
Lincoln City, Oregon
Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. It is named after the county. The population was 7,930 at the 2010 census.- History :...
, making his way to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and New Orleans before finally ending up at the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
headquarters in New York City. All told he plans to travel some 4,500 miles. He said the ride could take seven months or more."
Here follows a quote from a November 30, 2007 Salem Monthly
Salem Monthly
Salem Weekly is the only alternative monthly newspaper in Salem, Oregon, United States. The bi-weekly paper was established as a monthly in April 2005. It is owned and managed by Andrew P. "AP" Walther...
article (in Salem, Oregon
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...
):
The effort is "a commitment to the Akha people to protect their lands, to send a message to the Thai government that the Queen of ThailandSirikitSomdet Phra Nang Chao Sirikit Phra Borommarachininat , is the queen consort of Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand. She is the second Queen Regent of Thailand...
needs to give back the land of the Akha, to raise public awareness and end the removal of children from their villages and families by missionaries," he said.
The McDaniel family's "Ride for Freedom" via horseback and bus began in Oregon March 6, 2009. On riding days McDaniel rode the horse, Hampton. He then hitchhiked back to a large touring-size bus where his family was located. There were found his Akha wife, Michu Uaiyue, and their 5 children aged 8 to 2. McDaniel then drove the bus to the horse. Then when ready he rode the horse another day. By May 5, 2009 the family had arrived in Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay
Half Moon Bay is a city in San Mateo County, CaliforniaHalf Moon Bay may also refer to:- Geographic features :* Half Moon Bay , a bay on the San Mateo County Coast of California...
, California (20 miles south of San Francisco).
Hampton the horse is 17.2 hands high and eats 20 pounds of feed a day. A daily ride was around 20 to 25 miles, although they did 60 miles one day. McDaniel mapped the route with his iPhone. Concerning Hampton, he stated: "You have to make a deal with a horse. You can't fake it."
A May 13, 2009 Santa Cruz Sentinel
Santa Cruz Sentinel
The Santa Cruz Sentinel is a daily newspaper published in Santa Cruz, California, covering Santa Cruz County, California, and owned by MediaNews Group Inc....
article reported that McDaniel's web site included a journal of the trip. The article also stated:
Using her husband as a translator, Michu declares: "Until the queen gives our land back, people should keep talking about this."
The Akha Heritage Foundation web site links to McDaniel's official YouTube channel that has many videos of the ride. On day 300 (Dec. 30, 2009) McDaniel was in Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Murfreesboro is a city in and the county seat of Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 108,755 according to the United States Census Bureau's 2010 U.S. Census, up from 68,816 residents certified during the 2000 census. The center of population of Tennessee is located in...
, and had Hampton's horseshoes replaced again.
On day 382 (Monday, March 22, 2010) McDaniel arrived in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The Keizer Times reported: "By noon he had hit Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
, Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
and finally Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, where he had arranged for someone to pick up him and his horse for a respite in rural New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
."
The next step is the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
The United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is the UN's central coordinating body for matters relating to the concerns and rights of the world's indigenous peoples. "Indigenous person" means native, original, first people and aboriginal. There are more than 370 million indigenous...
in New York City in April 2010.