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High levels of poverty. “Indigenous Peoples are culturally distinct societies and communities. Although they make up 5% of the global population, they account for about 15% of the extreme poor.” The World Bank
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Sense of hopelessness. In many parts of the world, Canada including, the diverse groups of Indigenous peoples were estranged from their land, culture, and heritage. This dislocation has historically created a psychological and social breakdown in many communities, causing feelings of marginalization, isolation, and hopelessness with high suicide rates.
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Indigenous cultures threatened with extinction. Indigenous groups around the world generally have little to no funding to support their culture. “Indigenous cultures are threatened with extinction in many parts of the world. 90% of all languages will disappear within 100 years.” UN Report
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Severe impact on women. Forced evictions and the dispossession of lands have particularly severe impacts on indigenous women, who, as a result, often have an increased workload as they must walk long distances to find alternative sources of water or fuel wood, or are driven out of income-earning productive activities and into a situation of economic dependence on men. UN Report
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Value of traditional knowledge. “A great deal of traditional knowledge, including customary laws and folklore, has been undermined and destroyed by colonizers and post-colonial states who imposed their own systems of law, knowledge and worldviews on indigenous people. Today, however, there is an increasing appreciation of the value and potential of traditional knowledge.” UN Report
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Unique, but inaccessible products. Indigenous groups produce unique products that are mostly sold in remote areas and not online, making them inaccessible to the general population. This means Indigenous groups are missing out on an income that could lift and sustain their communities.
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No suitable platform for selling online. Major eCommerce platforms are profit-driven monopolis (Amazon, Ebay, Etsy etc) that don’t provide small businesses enough support to sell successfully online, don’t foster community support and are not suitable for niche product sellers, like Indigenous artists.
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