User:Rational Dude/sandbox 14

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A list of Indigenous peoples, or at least those who are part of the global indigenous movement. Thus, it does not include anthropologically indigenous groups such as Dravidians in India as they hold political power and autonomy. It does not include extinct indigenous peoples such as Elamites in Iran, this list will only focus on extant indigenous peoples. And finally, the list may not include some indigenous peoples with a debated status, like Samoyeds or Udmurts.

Africa[edit]

The vast majority of ethnic groups in Africa (specifically sub-Saharan Africans, who at referred to as black Africans) are indigenous to the continent. Though very few identify with the global indigenous movement, and they’re listed below.

Bantu[edit]

Berbers[edit]

Berbers are an ethnolingustic group and a member of the Afro-Asiatic group, thus making them distantly related to the Arab peoples who have significant influence in the Maghreb. They are indigenous to North Africa, such as the Maghreb, and their ethnogenesis can be traced into prehistory where they descended from the Iberomaurusians. The Berbers are a mixed group, varying in skin color and appearance due to admixture from Europeans, Asians, and Africans. However, a significant amount of Berbers have a physical appearance that is typically brown skinned as that was the typical appearance of their ancestral population.

Pygmies[edit]

San[edit]

Americas[edit]

Native Americans[edit]

Australia[edit]

This list will include indigenous peoples of Australia as well as Oceania to expand the list.

Aboriginal Australians[edit]

Comprising 500 distinct tribes, clans, and cultures, Aboriginal Australians are the indigenous peoples of Australia. They are the first humans to have inhabited the island continent, arriving in the Pleistocene and remained dominant until European colonization in 1700s by the British empire.

Melanesians[edit]

Polynesians[edit]

Asia[edit]

Much of the groups we see in Asia today are anthropologically indigenous, however there is not as significant amount of people part of the global political indigenous movement. There are some exceptions, and they are listed below.

Ainu[edit]

The Ainu are the direct descendants of the Jomon Culture, the first humans to inhabit Japan, doing so from 13,000 BC to 300 BC with the arrival of the Yayoi people (the ancestors of the Yamato Japanese) from Korea marking the end of the Jomon Period. As the Yayoi spread, the Jomon were either assimilated by these new immigrants or pushed into the mountainous regions of Japan where they remained isolated from the new population. As a result of this, the Ainu culture would later appear. They were able to live in peaceful isolation, but this came to an end during the Meiji Period when ethnic Yamato were asserting their dominance and spreading across Japan. This ethnic cleaning resulted in the remaining Ainu population fleeing north into Hokkaido where the Ainu reside today.

Andamanese[edit]

Arameans[edit]

Assyrians[edit]

Assyrians are a Semitic ethnic group descended from the ancient peoples of the same name. They also share descent from the closely related Babylonians as there was significant admixture between the two peoples despite historical animosity in ancient times, and in addition both peoples are descended from the Akkadians. Assyrians appeared in Mesopotamia, in what is today Iraq and Syria. Their political and ethnic dominance came to an end in 612 BC from an alliance of Babylonians and Medeans (an Iranian people ancestral to Kurds). Despite their political dominance ended, Assyrians continued to exist as a distinct ethnic group, even surviving the Arabization and Islamization of West Asia with many Assyrians being absorbed by Arab migrants colonizing their historical homeland of Mesopotamia. Eventually the fusion of indigenous peoples such as Assyrians with the newly arrived Arab peoples formed the people who would become the Iraqi and Syrian peoples, now indigenous to the land but politically and culturally dominant. A significant factor for the persecution of Assyrians is their strong adherence to Christianity, being among the earliest peoples in Asian outside of Israel to convert to Christianity, alongside Armenians. This tradition survives today, and Christian identity is closely intertwined with Assyrian identity.

Bedouin[edit]

Druze[edit]

Hmong[edit]

Jews[edit]

Katutubo[edit]

Kurds[edit]

Kurds are an Iranian ethnic group indigenous to West Asia, specifically Iran, Anatolia, and Mesopotamia. Kurds are an interesting case because they are the only Iranian ethnic group with political indigenous status, as other Iranian groups (Gilaks, Mazandaranis, Talysh, Lurds, Balochis, Persians) which are also indigenous, however they are not included due to holding political power in Iran and/or not being spread as wide in the region. In fact, there are more Kurds in Turkey than in Iran, thus being the likely reason giving Kurds their indigenous status. Kurds themselves are descended from Iranian peoples who entered Iran via Central Asia, and mixed with the indigenous peoples like Mesopotamians (Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians), Elamites, and Zagrosians (Gutians, Kassites, Mannaeans), which later gave rise to native Iranians which included the Medes, an Iranian peoples who are the direct ancestors of the Kurds.

As with other Iranian peoples, the majority of Kurds today are non Muslim such as atheists and a significant and growing minority of Christian converts and Zoroastrian reverts. As such, they face heavy persecution for being a non Muslim minority (and non Arab if you’re in Syria and Iraq or non Turkish if you’re in Turkey) of Iranian ethnicity.

Mandaeans[edit]

Marsh Arabs[edit]

Marsh Arabs are distant descendants of the Sumerians, the original peoples who inhabited the region of southern Iraq where the Tigris and Euphrates are located. The Sumerians were an ancient indigenous ethnic group who were among the first people to form civilization on Earth and created writing. Unlike their distant descendants, Sumerians are not closely related to any known ethnic and linguistic groups such as Semites. Sumerians disappeared long before, the peoples being absorbed by Mesopotamian Semites (Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians) who lived close to the Sumerians. Then the Arabization and subsequent Islamization of the region led to these people becoming Arabized culturally and genetically. Today, Marsh Arabs have a significant component of Sumerian ancestry in their genetic profile, showing that the legacy of ancient peoples can survive even across distant history.

Orang Asli[edit]

Palestinians[edit]

Penduduk Asli[edit]

Ryukuan[edit]

Samaritans[edit]

Taiwanese[edit]

Yazidis[edit]

Europe[edit]

Though the vast majority of European ethnic groups are indigenous anthropologically (Germans, Italians, Greeks), almost none are considered indigenous politically as the native peoples are dominant in their nations and hold political power and cultural dominance.

Basque[edit]

The Basque are a non Indo-European people indigenous to France and Spain, in a region referred to as Basque country. The Basque people are descended from Neolithic farmers that originated in Anatolia and migrated to Europe spreading agriculture, in the process mixing with the previous indigenous Europeans who were the first humans to settle the continent before the end of the last ice age. Due to relative isolation thanks to the Pyrenees, the Basque were separate from the migration of Indo-European Pontic Steppe herders that spread across much of Europe (the final mass immigration that would give rise to most European groups we see today). Though there is some evidence of minor admixture with Indo-Europeans who entered the Basque zone and intermarried, adopting the culture and language of the natives and assimilating. Because of their unique status as the only ancient non Indo-European peoples (not counting the Uralic Finns/Hungarians, Turkic Turks in Anatolia, and the Semitic Maltese), the Basque are linguistic and genetic isolates unrelated to any known existing group today. However, it is theorized by anthropologists and archaeologists that their family branch was much wider in the Bronze Age, with groups like Vascones, Aquitanians, and Iberians being close relatives to the Basque. The Basque were displaced by later Indo-European arrivals, specifically the Romans and their descendants the French and Spaniards.

Celts[edit]

Celts are the only Indo-European peoples in Europe to attain political indigenous status. The Celts originated in mainland Europe, specifically Bronze Age Central Europe. They descend from the Urnfield Culture and the Hallstatt Culture that succeeded it. From there, Celts spread across Europe and Anatolia, their range expanding from Portugal to as far as the Levant. Unfortunately, Celtic dominance would not last, as they would be displaced and replaced by Germanics, Slavs, and Romans as they spread around Europe. The last stronghold of Celts was in Britain, where the ancestors of Scottish, Irish, and Welsh lived. The Celts that inhabited the south were assimilated by Germanic immigrants like the Angles and Saxons who migrated from Germany and later gave rise to the British people. Today the only remaining Celtic peoples are Welsh, Scottish, Irish, Manx (in the Isle of Man), Bretons (from Brittany in France), and Cornish (from Cornwall in Britain).

Sami[edit]

The Sami are a non Indo-European Uralic ethnic group indigenous to Scandinavia. They are descended from the ancient Paleo-Scandinavians who existed on the land during the last ice age and later became Uralicized after being assimilated by Uralic peoples who migrated into the peninsula from Russia, thus resulting in the ethnogenesis of the Sami people. They eventually encountered Germanic peoples, with some assimilation and later displacement as their Indo-European neighbors spread and gave rise to the Norwegian and Swedish peoples. Their fellow Uralic relatives the Finns also displaced them, and there was a significant degree of assimilation enforced by the dominant Finns, Nords, and Swedes. Despite forced assimilation policies, the Sami remain a distinct culture. Interestingly, some Sami have mixed features resembling Europeans like their Germanic neighbors and Asians like their ancient ancestors from East Asia (the stereotypical East Asian appearance). Many Sami typically have white skin and their hair color ranges from brunette to blonde.

See also[edit]