Results for: Indigenous Peoples

The 2024 UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, concluded with a disappointing outcome, leaving many countries frustrated and the future of global biodiversity efforts uncertain. Despite some breakthroughs, like a global levy on companies profiting from genetic data and a permanent body for Indigenous peoples, negotiations collapsed over funding and implementation strategies. The summit’s failure to reach a consensus on how to raise the necessary funds and monitor progress towards the ambitious goals set in Montreal in 2022 casts a shadow over the future of nature conservation.

A groundbreaking linguistic model reveals that Indigenous peoples entered North America in four distinct waves between 12,000 and 24,000 years ago, bringing their diverse languages with them. This model aligns with archaeological, climatological, and genetic evidence, supporting the notion of dynamic and diverse populations in early North America. By analyzing structural features of 60 languages from across the U.S. and Canada, researchers have identified two main language groups that entered North America in multiple waves, providing insights into the peopling of the continent.