The Rising Politics of Indigeneity in Southeast Asia

The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) Foundation based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, is playing a key role in promoting solidarity, networking and capacity-building among Indigenous Peoples in Asia as well as linking local communities with international funders and advocates.

As highly marginalized communities residing predominantly in the regions natural-resource-rich areas, Indigenous Peoples are bearing the brunt of the downside of ASEAN's ambitious investment plan and resource-extractive model of development. Regardless of ASEAN's overall stance of non-recognition of Indigenous Peoples as a distinct community, Indigenous Peoples in the region are increasingly identifying in solidarity with a larger, distinctive collectivity of Indigenous Peoples within the framework of ASEAN.