August 2010 Commentary: Celebrating U.N. International Day of the World’s Indigenous People

The United Nations’ (UN) International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is observed on August 9 each year to promote and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population. As the world turns today, there are approximately 370 million indigenous people (almost 5 percent of the human population) in some 5,000 groups worldwide in 70 different countries. In pre-contact America, there were over 500 distinct indigenous tribes. All of us would do well to honor, cherish, and heed this important minority of wisdom keepers on our planet.