Report from the Frontier

Dr Julian Burger is Visiting Professor at the Human Rights Centre at the University of Essex in the UK. Before taking up his University appointment, he worked at the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for 20 years during which time he headed the programme on indigenous peoples and minorities. During this period, he organized the discussions on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and helped launch the principle human rights mechanisms on indigenous peoples - the Special Rapporteur, Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He also helped establish inter-agency networks of UN organizations to improve integration of indigenous and minority rights into development programmes. He has visited indigenous and minority communities in many parts of the world. He has published books and articles on indigenous peoples and human rights since the 1980s

This is an exhaustive report on the condition (as of 1987) of several hundred of the world's surviving native nations. Covering all continents, the book gives historical accounts of the arrival of the colonial pavers, the suppression of autonomy, the alienation from native lands and customs, and the current situation. [...] Population tables, maps, chronologies, resource, guides and other helpful devices make Report from the Frontier an absolutely essential document for anyone seeking to grasp the big picture on the situation of native peoples on the planet today.' Jerry Mander

• Acknowledgements1. Unwelcome Development2. Peoples at the Frontier3. Life at the Bottom4. The Colonial Experience5. The Indigenous Movement Today6. Indians in the Backyard: Central America and Mexico7. The Indians of South America8. The Colonization of Asia's Tribal Peoples9. The Threatened Peoples of Africa10. Indigenous Peoples in Rich Countries11. Indigenous Minorities in Socialist Countries12. Banks and Corporations13. International Action14. Echoes in the WestAppendix: Selected List of OrganizationsSelect BibliographyIndex