As India consolidates an aggressive model of economic development, indigenous tribal people – the Adivasis – continue to be overrepresented among the country’s poor. Adivasis make up more than eight hundred communities in India, with a total population of more than a hundred million people speaking more than three hundred different languages. Although their historical presence is acknowledged by the state and they are lauded as part of India’s ethnic identity, their poverty has been compounded by the suppression of their cultural heritage and lifestyle.