PLAN
PLAN encompasses the identification of indigenous groups prior to making key site-related decisions; understanding of the legal framework and government engagement to date with indigenous groups; developing a Community Engagement Plan for engagement with indigenous groups; and lays the groundwork for the development of an Indigenous Peoples Plan.
Task 1 – Confirm presence of Indigenous Peoples
The presence of Indigenous Peoples near or within a site’s Area of Influence and the extent of their lands or traditional territories needs to be determined as early as possible, before any mining-related activities are initiated.
In most cases, a review of literature, United Nations and NGO documentation, and stakeholder engagement activities as part of the external context review, will indicate whether indigenous groups live on or use the land within a site’s Area of Influence, or if Indigenous Peoples’ lands or traditional territories overlap with a site’s Area of Influence.
In other cases, it may be more difficult to establish the presence of indigenous groups. In such cases, the process of identifying the presence of indigenous groups and the extent of their land and territories should include engagement with relevant government agencies and experts on local Indigenous Peoples. The community itself should also have a say through their chosen representative.
The criteria to define Indigenous Peoples are as follows, and can apply in varying degrees:
- Self-identification as members of a distinct indigenous cultural group and recognition of this identity by others
- Collective attachment to geographically distinct habitats or ancestral territories in the site’s Area of Influence and to the natural resources in these habitats and territories
- Customary cultural, economic, social or political institutions that are separate from those of the mainstream society or culture
- A distinct language or dialect, often different from the official language or languages of the country or region in which they reside
- Descent from populations who have traditionally pursued non-wage (and often nomadic/transhumant) subsistence strategies and whose status is regulated by their own customs or traditions or by special law or regulations.