Land, Culture, and Heritage: Restoring Indigenous Peoples’ Cultural Identity through Access to Justice and Reparations

Indigenous peoples’ conception of life is based on a holistic vision of the universe requiring that all elements – living or dead, animate or inanimate – retain their place in the world in harmony with each other. Disruption of this order usually determines an offence which necessarily needs to be redressed, as a precondition for the harmonious preservation, development, and transmission of Indigenous peoples’ cultural identity to future generations. It is therefore of vital importance that Indigenous peoples have access to reparations for all wrongs suffered, as well as that the reparatory measures selected in each specific case are perceived as being adequate and effective to repair the torts suffered by the communities specifically concerned. This is a fundamental requirement which is inherent in the very idea of justice, and, therefore, is essential for the realisation of human rights in the world.