This paper provides a broad perspective into the several issues facing indigenous peoples, these people being mostly located in the Americas, Australia, and Africa. These issues range from loss of culture to loss of land, but all lead up to one big problem: Native peoples around the world are going extinct (see appendix 5 & 6). A solution to this overwhelming problem can only, and must be made by governments, or the world will lose great cultural assets. .
This problem is a direct result of the invasion and populating of native lands, diseases brought by these settlers, and the killing of natives by colonial armies. The foreigners who did this are the old European powers of England, France, Holland, and Spain. These powers were in a race for colonization, so they could gather more resources and living space in foreign lands. Virtually everywhere, from Canada to Africa, the issue of native extinction exists. From the times of colonization (17th, 18th, and 19th centuries), native peoples have struggled for their very existence in lands they once ruled.
Aboriginal peoples, not only in North America, but around the world, are disappearing into extinction because they are mistreated minorities in their own land. Through a look at the history of native peoples, the loss of their culture, the loss of their natural resources, their poor economic situations, and solutions to these problems, one can fully grasp the scale of this issue. .
The history of native peoples varies from continent to continent. Each has their own unique cultures and customs. They all share one thing in common, though, that they have all fallen victim to invasion and dislocation.
In North America, Natives arrived from Asia to the continent approximately 30,000 years ago. It is estimated that before the time of European contact, there were 90 million Natives in North and South America. When the first Europeans arrived in Central America in 1492, the "Indians", as they were called, had no defense for the battles ahead.