Summary

Zusammenfassung

Today, it is generally recognized that the relationship to land forms the basis of an indigenous people’s identity, and that indigenous peoples’ cultures cannot be preserved without a certain degree of control over land and natural resources. In the course of colonization, however, indigenous peoples lost ownership and control over most of their ancestral lands. The ways in which indigenous peoples lost these lands differ significantly in the different States and regions. Whereas some colonial powers justified their land acquisition by reference to conquest, others relied on cession/purchase or referred to the principle of occupation (terra nullius principle). In addition, some States implemented land reforms to render tribal ownership of land impossible. Yet, regardless of whether the indigenous peoples’ rights to their traditional territories were initially recognized by the colonial powers or whether their lands were treated as terrae nullius, indigenous peoples could ultimately not prevent the loss of vast amounts of their ancestral lands in the course of colonization. Eventually, from the end of the 19th century onwards, the existence of inherent indigenous land rights rooted solely in traditional use and ownership was generally denied, and previous treaties concluded with indigenous peoples were regarded as abrogable or simple nullities.