9 August is International Day of the World's Indigenous People

The United Nations celebrates 9 August every year as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. Indigenous people are tribal people (in India their nomenclature is “Adivasis”) who consider themselves distinct from societies of majority culture or the 'developed world', as we call it.

Some of the issues faced by the indigenous people the world over include cultural and linguistic preservation, land rights, ownership and exploitation of natural resources, political determination and autonomy, environmental degradation and incursion, poverty, health, and discrimination. Indiscriminate infrastructural development activities have caused havoc in the lives of the indigenous people as these activities often results in the degradation of their inhabited environment. Human rights violations are committed against them in many parts of the world and they are discriminated against in economic development as well.

By observing this day, the United Nations aims at strengthening international cooperation for the solution of problems faced by indigenous people in such areas as culture, education, health, human rights, the environment, and social and economic development.

Source: Official website of the United Nations and Wikipedia