The ethnosphere is the sum total of the world's cultures. It incorporates, among other cultural facets, ". . . all thoughts, dreams, ideas, beliefs, myths, intuitions, and inspirations brought into being by the human imagination since the dawn of consciousness". Ethnosphere refers to both the accumulation of living cultures and the ancient lineages from which they evolved.
Indigenous peoples are those groups especially protected in international or national legislation as having a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory, and their cultural or historical distinctiveness from other populations. The legislation is based on the conclusion that certain indigenous people are vulnerable to exploitation, marginalization and oppression by nation states formed from colonising populations or by politically dominant, different ethnic groups.