Hill tribe (Thailand)

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Hill tribe (Thai: ชาวดอย, ชาวเขา, [tɕʰāːw.dɔ̄ːj, tɕʰāːw.kʰǎw]; Northern Thai: จาวดอย, คนดอย, [t͡ɕāːw.dɔ̄ːj, xōn.dɔ̄ːj]; 'mountain people/folk')^[1][2] is a term used in Thailand for all of the various ethnic groups who mostly inhabit the high mountainous northern and western regions of Thailand, including both sides of the border areas between northern Thailand, Laos and Burma, the Phi Pan Nam Range, the Thanon Range, the latter a southern prolongation of the Shan Hills, as well as the Tenasserim Hills in Western Thailand. These areas exhibit mountainous terrain which is in some areas covered by thick forests, while in others it has been heavily affected by deforestation.^[3]

In 1959, the government of Thailand established the Hill Tribe Welfare Committee under the Ministry of the Interior; nine ethnic groups (Akha, Hmong, Htin, Iu-Mien, Karen, Khamu, Lahu, Lisu and Lua) were officially recognized as Chao Khao or “Hill Tribes” at that time.^[4] By 2004, these groups and other ethnic minorities like Kachin, Dara’ang, Mlabri and Shan came to be called Klum chatiphan Chao khao or “Ethnic Hill tribes”.^[4]

The hill dwelling peoples have traditionally been primarily subsistence farmers who use slash-and-burn agricultural techniques to farm their heavily forested communities.^[5] Popular perceptions that slash and burn practices are environmentally destructive, governmental concerns over borderland security, and population pressure has caused the government to forcibly relocate many hill tribe peoples.^[6] Traditionally, hill tribes were a migratory people, leaving land as it became depleted of resources. Cultural and adventure travel tourism^[7] resulting in visiting the tribal villages is an increasing source of income for the hill tribes.^[8]

The mountain peoples are severely disadvantaged by comparison with the dominant Thai ethnic group.^[9] A 2013 article in the Bangkok Post said that "Nearly a million hill peoples and forest dwellers are still treated as outsiders—criminals even, since most live in protected forests. Viewed as national security threats, hundreds of thousands of them are refused citizenship although many are natives to the land".^[10] The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security's 2015 Master Plan for the Development of Ethnic Groups in Thailand 2015-2017^[11] listed 13 mountain peoples and recognized problems in five areas, namely a lack of rights and uncertainty in housing, a lack of rights in legal status, a lack of stability in life, and weaknesses in bureaucratic planning. It sought to provide a planning framework to address these issues. The Master Plan was not renewed after 2017; it was 'subsumed' into planning by the Office of the National Security Council and by the Ministry of Culture.^[12]