Native Americans

WASHINGTON

Settlement Begins in U.S. Mismanagement of Native Funds

By Carey L. Biron
After 17 years in litigation, the U.S. government has announced that hundreds of thousands of Native Americans will soon be receiving payments from what has been described as the United States’ largest class-action lawsuit, which accused the government of massive mismanagement of trusts covering indigenous peoples’ monies and lands.

U.N. Report Chastises U.S. for Status of Native Population

By Carey L. Biron
A top United Nations official has presented the first ever international investigation into the situation of indigenous peoples in the United States, urging the adoption of new policies and mechanisms to “address persistent deep-seeded problems related to historical wrongs, failed policies of the past and continuing systemic barriers”.
Two girls from the Chortí indigenous community in their doorway in a village in Chiquimula. Credit: Danilo Valladares/IPS

Poverty Rates Strikingly High Among Indigenous Populations

By Ethan Freedman
Although they are only five percent of the global population, indigenous people account for up to 15 percent of the world’s poor, according to a new study published by members of the World Bank.