The world's indigenous communities are rapidly dwindling in numbers, with many classified as endangered, due to outsiders' encroachments and exploitation of their natural resources. Indigenous tribes often lose out in battles to defend their lands and cultures from mining companies, dam builders, oil palm planters, pushy evangelists and military forces.
Nowhere are these battles more apparent than in Asia, home to almost two-thirds of the world's indigenous populations. From the Philippines and Japan to Indonesia and Bangladesh, indigenous populations face mounting threats from discrimination and marginalization, forced assimilation or military repression.
