A/HRC/27/52 D. Ongoing negative attitudes towards and distorted perceptions of indigenous peoples 34. Linked with reconciliation yet to be completed and preventing the full enjoyment of the rights of indigenous peoples are the ongoing negative perceptions of indigenous peoples among the broader societies in which they live, including within governments. As noted further below, the Special Rapporteur observes that there is a range of such attitudes towards indigenous peoples, from those that are outwardly prejudicial, to those that ignore or undervalue indigenous peoples’ distinct identities and ways of life, to those that fail to understand the reasons for protecting indigenous rights. One or more of those attitudes may be present at any time. Each has effects both on a State’s efforts to respond to indigenous peoples’ concerns and on indigenous peoples themselves, potentially resulting in negative self-image or the suppression of indigenous identities. 35. Ongoing discrimination against indigenous peoples has its roots in the perceived superiority of the colonial population and its descendants, perceptions that were historically accompanied by laws and policies aimed at suppressing or eliminating indigenous identity and assimilating indigenous peoples into the dominant culture. In many countries, constitutional provisions and laws contained expressly racist language and barred indigenous peoples from carrying out a range of their own activities, such as performing cultural and religious ceremonies, and from participating in the life of the State, such as through voting or owning land. Some of the most notorious examples of such policies were those that overtly aimed at eliminating or “breeding out” aboriginal identity by removing indigenous children from their families and communities and placing them in nonindigenous environments, and by forbidding them to speak their own languages or practise their cultural traditions. 36. Racist laws and policies of that kind have almost entirely been eliminated around the world and are no longer tolerated. However, it has to be noted that, to date, the legal frameworks in some countries continue to officially refer to indigenous peoples as primitive tribal groups, subhumans or creatures. In most countries where indigenous peoples live, there have been many advances in furthering the rights of indigenous peoples, safeguarding their distinct cultures and ways of life and recognizing and combating the injustices that they still endure. Nevertheless, the laws and policies of the past have left in their wake continued discriminatory attitudes that distort perceptions of indigenous peoples and hinder their ability to thrive as distinct communities with their cultures, traditions and way of life intact. Those attitudes are evident at the individual, societal and institutional levels and can be perpetuated by public figures, the media and popular culture, everyday language and imagery, and even by children’s schoolbooks. 37. One kind of negative attitude involves discrimination, prejudice and the stereotyping of indigenous peoples. This can take many different forms, including the perception that indigenous peoples’ cultures and traditions are backward, primitive or underdeveloped, or that they suffer from widespread and entrenched social problems, such as alcoholism or violence against women. Such attitudes can be accompanied by the perception that indigenous peoples are incapable of managing their own affairs, or simply that the State can do it better, resulting in paternalistic laws and policies that limit or remove indigenous peoples’ control over decisions relating to their own affairs, including their governmental or judicial systems. 38. Alternatively, indigenous peoples all but disappear from public awareness and discourse and are rendered invisible to the mainstream in the countries in which they live, their contributions to the history and the present-day social and cultural make-up of those countries unknown or not valued. This is especially evident in countries with a small number of indigenous peoples or where they live in rural and isolated areas and interaction 12