The Kutai Adat Lawas Sumping Layang Kedang Ipil Indigenous Community and the Benuaq Ohokng Sangokng Muara Tae Indigenous Community are two Indigenous Community communities located in Kedang Ipil Village, Kota Bangun Darat District, Kutai Kartanegara Regency, and Muara Tae Village, Jempang District, West Kutai Regency. In recent decades, both have faced challenges due to the expansion of mining, palm oil, and Industrial Plantation Forest (HTI) companies that were never approved by the community as well as the clean water crisis, and the criminalization of their citizens who defend their customary land.

Therefore, the activity of “Accelerating the Recognition and Protection of Indigenous Peoples’ Rights” is a response to legal protection and formal recognition by the local government of the Indigenous Peoples’ living areas. In the initial process, a Customary Deliberation was held in Muara Tae involving customary leaders and community members to compile ethnographic documents and maps of customary areas. Furthermore, the verified documents were submitted directly to the Customary Peoples’ Committee at the Kutai Barat DPMK office. This process involves identification, compilation, and signing of minutes which are the legal basis for verification by the district government.

Now, both communities have completed compiling and submitting complete documents containing maps of customary areas, historical records and customary systems, as well as ethnographic data that serve as the formal basis for submitting a Decree of Recognition to the district government. Submission of documents to the West Kutai MHA Committee has also been officially accepted. With the preparation of these documents, the Kutai Adat Lawas Sumping Layang Kedang Ipil Indigenous Community and the Benuaq Ohokng Sangokng Muara Tae Indigenous Community understand the legal procedures in place and how to strengthen their customary area claims with official mapping of Customary Areas.