***** Click here for the
Japanese pages.
This is the Homepage of INDEC, a grassroot working group established in 1992 in Tokyo, Japan, by concerned citizens and ethnic as well as human rights organizations. Our initial purpose was to promote the United Nation's "International Year of the World's Indigenous People" (1992-1993). Having gone through various actions and lobbying since then, we are now reorganized as an NGO to promote the UN International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1994-2004) and related purposes. Our activites take place mainly in Japan and our special commitment is to support the plights of the Ainu, an oppressed indigenous minority ethnic group in Japan. We also relay international news concerning the world's indigenous peoples, which unfortunately tend to be only poorly covered by the Japanese media. Despite the harsh ethnocide policy and the paternalistic attitudes of the Japanese governments since the 19th century, the Ainu have been fighting for recognition of their ethnic dignity and the inherent rights as the indigenous people.
Followings are some Web pages which you can utilize to collect information on the Ainu people. They do not necessarily reflect our coalition's position. What to do with their various viewpoints, what to pick up from them, or how to interpret them is completely up to you. Please note that the activities to regain the Ainu people's rights were obliged to experience the drastic change in 1997, when the new law called "An Act for the Promotion of Ainu Culture, the Spread of Knowledge relevant to Ainu Traditions, and an Education Campaign" was announced. Descriptions may be, therefore, different in characteristics whether they were written before or after the law. Hokkaido Museum of Northern Peoples Outline of the museum for those who may want to visit there. Historical Museum of Hokkaido In the Main exhibition pages, you can briefly go through the history of Hokkaido. References to the Ainu are made not only in Theme 2, Ainu Culture, but also in other Themes, so don't miss them. The Ainu Museum Rich information on Ainu culture, the people, their history, etc. The descriptions are a bit stale, though. The Foundation for Research and Promotion of Ainu Culture This is the foundation which was designated by the Hokkaido Development Agency and the Ministry of Education as the sole corporation in the nation with the authority to carry out the services provided in the Law for the Promotion of the Ainu Culture and for the Dissemination and Advocacy for the Traditions of the Ainu and the Ainu Culture.