Abstract: This book is concerned with the first peoples (those people who are considered indigenous by themselves and others) of Southern Africa such as the San, the Nama and the Khoi, and their rights. It analyses the civil and political rights situation, assessing the extent to which these people benefit from such rights as compared to the wider society. The rights to land and to natural resources - or the lack of them - are an important focus of exploration and the book gives several examples of what the loss of these rights has meant for the existence and cultural identity of Southern Africa's indigenous men and women.