indigenous sovereignty

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

the inherent authority and self-governing power of indigenous peoples over their own territories, resources, governance structures, and cultural practices that predates and is not derived from the authority of colonial or settler states; asserted as a foundation of indigenous political philosophy and as the basis for treaty relationships, which indigenous nations understand as agreements between sovereign peoples rather than concessions granted by colonial powers; central to legal and political movements for self-determination in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and across Latin America and the Pacific