Obama adopts U.N. manifesto on rights of indigenous peoples

President Obama announced Thursday that the U.S. would reverse the position of the Bush administration and become the last nation to drop its opposition to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The nonbinding declaration recognizes the rights of indigenous peoples to self-determination, as well as their institutions, cultures and traditions, and prohibits discrimination against them. When the document was introduced in 2007, 143 countries voted to approve it, 11 abstained, and four - the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia - voted to oppose it.

Since then, the other three nations have switched their votes in support of the declaration, leaving the U.S. as the lone holdout.

Objections to the declaration include its potential to conflict with U.S. law, its failure to define exactly who indigenous peoples are, and its support for tribes seeking claims on lands occupied hundreds of years ago. Article 26 of the declaration states that "indigenous peoples have the right to the lands, territories and resources which they have traditionally owned, occupied or otherwise used or acquired."

Article 28 states that indigenous peoples "have the right to redress," which can include "restitution" or "just, fair and equitable compensation" for lands and resources they have traditionally owned or occupied, but which have been "confiscated, taken, occupied" without their consent.

There are more than 370 million indigenous people in about 70 countries worldwide, according to U.N. estimates. About 2 million live in the United States as members of Indian tribes and nations.