Formation
George Manuel, President of the National Indian Brotherhood and member of the Shuswap Tribe of British Columbia, had travelled with Jean Chrétien to New Zealand. Upon his return, Manuel said:
"I hope that the common history and shared values that we discovered in each other are only the seeds from which some kind of lasting framework can grow for a common alliance of Native Peoples."
In 1972 Manuel, along with the General Assembly of the National Indian Brotherhood (NIB) endorsed the idea of an international conference of indigenous peoples. It also authorized the NIB to apply for Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) status at the UN.
The first preparatory meeting for the world conference was held from April 8 - 11th in Guyana 1974. It included representatives from Australia, Canada, Columbia, Greenland, Guyana, New Zealand, Norway and the United States.
They developed a social and political definition of "indigenous people" which stated:
"The term indigenous people refers to people living in countries which have a population composed of differing ethnic or racial groups who are descendants of the earliest populations living in the area and who do not as a group control the national government of the countries within which they live."
In May 1974 the NIB was granted NGO status by the Economic and Social Council of the UN, based on the fact that there was not yet another international organization of indigenous peoples in existence. The NIB was thus supposed to transfer its NGO status to an international organization should one form.
Read more about this topic: World Council Of Indigenous Peoples
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