Indigenous Peoples' Rights Act of 1997

who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may have resettled outside their ancestral domains; i)               Indigenous Political Structures — refer to organizational and cultural leadership systems, institutions, relationships, patterns and processes for decision-making and participation, identi¦ed by ICCs/IPs such as, but not limited to, Council of Elders, Council of Timuays, Bodong Holders, or any other tribunal or body of similar nature; j)               Individual Claims — refer to claims on land and rights thereon which have been devolved to individuals, families and clans including, but not limited to, residential lots, rice terraces or paddies and tree lots; k)              National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) — refers to the o¨ce created under this Act, which shall be under the O¨ce of the President, and which shall be the primary government agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies, plans and programs to recognize, protect and promote the rights of ICCs/IPs; l)               Native Title — refers to pre-conquest rights to lands and domains which, as far back as memory reaches, have been held under a claim of private ownership by ICCs/IPs, have never been public lands and are thus indisputably presumed to have been held that way since before the Spanish Conquest; m)            Nongovernment Organization — refers to a private, nonpro¦t voluntary organization that has been organized primarily for the delivery of various services to the ICCs/IPs and has an established track record for effectiveness and acceptability in the community where it serves; n)              People’s Organization — refers to a private, nonpro¦t voluntary organization of members of an ICC/IP which is accepted as representative of such ICCs/IPs; o)              Sustainable Traditional Resource Rights — refer to the rights of ICCs/IPs to sustainably use, manage, protect and conserve a) land, air, water, and minerals; b) plants, animals and other organisms; c) collecting, ¦shing and hunting grounds; d) sacred sites; and e) other areas of economic, ceremonial and aesthetic value in accordance with their indigenous knowledge, beliefs, systems and practices; and