Demarcation of Indigenous traditional territories

Abstract

Indigenous peoples need a proper demarcation of Traditional Territories. Traditional Territories are the basis for exercising the collective rights of consultation and consent, and for negotiating the contents of the right to lands and natural resources recognized by the Indigenous Peoples Basic Law. The demarcation would have supported Indigenous peoples to tell their land stories, to denounce the historical injustice, and to practice their customary law. It would have bridged the gap between Indigenous peoples and the state, and between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous society for mutual understanding and reconciliation. This chapter, however, shows how controversial are the Demarcation Regulations issued by the Council of Indigenous Peoples. The author argues that the Regulations ignore the diversity and significance of Traditional Territories and merely focus on a fixed boundary. Therefore, it is inconsistent with historical fact or Indigenous customary law. The Regulations also confine Indigenous Traditional Territories only to public lands because the Council of Indigenous Peoples wants to prevent private property rights from the infringement by Indigenous consultation and consent rights. As a result, it is misleading to imagine Traditional Territories and private property as mutually exclusive. The tension between Indigenous collective rights and property rights is also exaggerated.