Rights to their traditional lands and resources are essential to the survival of indigenous peoples. They have been formulated and advanced in the most progressive way by the Inter-American system of human rights protection.

In this book, Mariana Monteiro de Matos analyzes, in detailed and comprehensive inquiry, the pertinent jurisprudence of the Inter-American Commission and Court of Human Rights. She identifies three distinct waves of decision regarding the objects of ownership or possession, the rights associated, and the holders of the rights. Originally, the book also offers a profound analysis of corollary procedural law.