The Role of Constitutions in the Legal Status of Indigenous Peoples (Examples of Arctic Countries)

In this article, based on the examples of four Arctic states (Russia, the United States of America, Canada and Finland), the role of constitutions is determined and described how the basic state law forms legal systems and ensures the legal status of indigenous peoples. It is revealed that indigenous peoples are presented as a constitutional and legal phenomenon in the largest and most developed states of the world. The characteristics of indigenous peoples differ, since they are influenced by both the processes of state building and society development. According to the author, the role of the constitution is that at the level of the main law, indigenous peoples are distinguished as a special ethnic community that has political, cultural, and economic significance for the state. At the same time, the characteristics of indigenous peoples are not constant — they are significantly influenced by external conditions: political, legal, social, and economic, forming or changing them. This requires constant revision and updating of approaches to the study of indigeneity and determining the prospects for the development of indigenous peoples. Within the framework of this article, the author examines the terminology associated with indigenous peoples, enshrined at the constitutional level, and proposes to use a special term in constitutional law — “indigenism”, i.e. a set of unique characteristics that distinguish indigenous peoples from other ethnic groups, and in accordance with which these characteristics peoples are endowed with special collective and individual rights.