August 9 Is the International Day of the World's Indigenous People

From http://www.un.org/en/events/indigenousday

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (9 August) was first proclaimed by the General Assembly in December 1994, to be celebrated every year during the first International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995 – 2004).

In 2004, the Assembly proclaimed a Second International Decade, from 2005 – 2015, with the theme of “A Decade for Action and Dignity.”

The focus of this year’s International Day will be Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future.

At UN Headquarters in New York on 9 August, there will be a special event focusing on intellectual property in relation to indigenous designs, as well as best practices for protecting indigenous arts and crafts. You can learn more about the event at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unpfii/en/news_internationalday2011.html

The UN has an educational webpage about indigenous peoples at http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/indigenous/index.asp

Larry Ferlazzo has put together a collection of websites that may be useful: http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org/2010/08/02/the-best-sites-for-international-day-of-the-worlds-indigenous-people