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{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}

The {{nihongo|'''Ainu Association of Hokkaido'''|北海道アイヌ協会|Hokkaidō Ainu Kyōkai}} is an umbrella group of which most [[Hokkaidō]] [[Ainu people|Ainu]] and some other Ainu are members.  Originally controlled by the [[Politics of Japan|government]] with the intention of speeding Ainu assimilation and integration into the [[Japan]]ese [[nation state]], it now operates independently of the government and is run exclusively by Ainu. The group has been influential in raising public awareness of Ainu issues.

== History ==
In August of 1945, Japan experienced a significant military loss which led to Japan losing a good portion of their colonies but still kept Hokkaido as one of its territories.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tsutsui |first1=Kiyoteru |title=Ainu: From a Dying Race to an Indigenous People |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> The Ainu believed that this new circumstance could potentially free them from suppression.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tsutsui |first1=Kiyoteru |title=Ainu: From a Dying Race to an Indigenous People |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> This led to the establishment of the Hokkaido Ainu Association which continues to be the most prominent Ainu organisation.{{fact|date=April 2024}}

The central goals of the association, in general, was to improve welfare, agricultural and fishing methods as well as education. This consisted of goals intending to restore control of certain pieces of land such as in Ashahikawa which had been promised to the Ainu or land that had been given to them under the post-war Agricultural Land Act.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Maruyama |first1=Hiroshi |title=Japan's post war Ainu policy. Why the Japanese Government has not recognised Ainu indigenous rights? |journal=Polar Record |date=April 2013 |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=204–207|doi=10.1017/S003224741200040X |bibcode=2013PoRec..49..204M }}</ref>

After the military defeat experienced by Japan, their positioning on racial and ethnic diversity changed to advocate for a culturally homogenous state.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tsutsui |first1=Kiyoteru |title=Ainu: From a Dying Race to an Indigenous People |date=2018 |publisher=Oxford University Press}}</ref> This meant that any ethnic or cultural differences were viewed negatively leading to Japan to exert pressure on the Ainu to adopt and assimilate into mainstream Japanese customs. It was originally established in 1930 under the name {{nihongo|'''Hokkaido Ainu Association'''|北海道アイヌ協会|Hokkaidō Ainu Kyōkai}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Meyer |first=Stanisław |date=2011 |title=Japanese minorities and the question of citizenship: the case of the Ainu, Koreans and Okinawans |journal=Silva Iaponicarum |volume=27–28 |pages=64–82 |issn=1734-4328 |url=https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/entities/publication/7c1dfda0-d3bf-4e20-b2c8-b0ba184fa7f8}}</ref> Since 1961 ''utari'' (meaning 'friend') has been used instead of "Ainu".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Tsutsui |first1=Kiyoteru |title=Ainu: From a Dying Race to an Indigenous People |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> This was because many members believed "Ainu" was term that was received negatively. The organization's name was changed back to Hokkaido Ainu Association in early 2009.<ref>{{cite news |script-title=ja:ウタリ協会、アイヌ協会に 来春、半世紀ぶり名称変更 |trans-title=Next spring, after half a century Ainu Association changed its name, the Ainu Association |language=Japanese |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080519132008/http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0516/TKY200805160292.html |archive-date=19 May 2008 |url=http://www.asahi.com/national/update/0516/TKY200805160292.html |newspaper=[[Asahi Shimbun]] |location=Osaka |date=16 May 2008 |accessdate=2 June 2012}}</ref>  From 1964 to 1996, its executive director was [[Giichi Nomura]].{{fact|date=April 2024}}

== Development ==
After years of the suppression of Ainu culture, there is currently a large advocation for Ainu cultural revitalisation. Ainu cultural revitalisation is commonly linked to keeping what remains of the culture as well as recovering what has been lost.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uzawa |first1=Kanako |title=What does Ainu cultural revitalisation mean to Ainu and Wajin Youth in the 21st century? Case study of Urespa as a place to learn Ainu culture in the city of Sapporo, Japan |journal=AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples |date=June 2019 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=168–179|doi=10.1177/1177180119846665 }}</ref> Currently, the Hokkaido Ainu Association supports holding traditional cultural activities which involves Ainu Hokkaido-based groups - that promote the preservation of their culture - to come together in each community and participate in these activities.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Uzawa |first1=Kanako |title=What does Ainu cultural revitalisation mean to Ainu and Wajin Youth in the 21st century? Case study of Urespa as a place to learn Ainu culture in the city of Sapporo, Japan |journal=AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples |date=June 2019 |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=168–179|doi=10.1177/1177180119846665 }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Ainu flag]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.ainu-assn.or.jp/ Hokkaido Utari Association]

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Ainu politics]]
[[Category:Indigenous rights organizations in Asia]]
[[Category:Cultural organizations based in Japan]]
[[Category:Ainu organizations]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1930]]
[[Category:1930 establishments in Japan]]

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