49 157 cultures, their spiritual life, their integrity, and their economic survival.” For the IACHR, “the use and enjoyment of the land and its resources are integral components of the physical and cultural survival of 158 the indigenous communities and the effective realization of their human rights more broadly.” 173. The right to territory also encompasses the use and enjoyment of its natural resources, and is directly related, even a pre-requisite to, enjoyment of the rights to an existence under conditions of 159 dignity, and to food, water, health and life; therefore, “[each community’s] relations to its land and resources are protected by other rights set forth in the American Convention, such as the right to life, honor, and dignity, freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of association, rights of the family, and 160 freedom of movement and residence.” It must be noted that the life of members of indigenous and tribal communities “fundamentally depends” on the subsistence activities – agriculture, hunting, fishing, 161 gathering ‐ that they carry out in their territories. As explained by the IACHR, “continued utilization of traditional collective systems for the control and use of territory are in many instances essential to the 162 individual and collective well-being, and indeed the survival of, indigenous peoples.” Control of the land “refers both its capacity for providing the resources which sustain life, and to the geographic space 163 necessary for the cultural and social reproduction of the group” . 174. As for the socio-cultural dimension of this relationship, it has been pointed out that the close relationship between indigenous and tribal peoples and their traditional territories and natural resources is a constitutive element of their culture, understood as a particular way of life; the free exercise 164 of the right to territorial property is essential for the enjoyment and perpetuation of their culture. Their notions of family and religion are intimately connected to the traditional territory, where ancestral cemeteries, places of religious meaning and importance, and kinship patterns are linked to the occupation 165 and use of physical territories. Therefore, since territory and natural resources are constitutive elements of the worldview, spiritual life and mode of subsistence of indigenous and tribal peoples, they 166 form an intrinsic part of their members’ right to cultural identity. Recognition of ancestral lands and 167 territories is fundamental for the perpetuation of indigenous and tribal peoples’ cultural structure. Indigenous and tribal peoples are entitled to have the State effectively guarantee their right to their 168 cultural identity. If the State fails to secure the right to territorial property of indigenous communities and their members, they are deprived “not only of material possession of their territory but also of the basic 157 I/A Court H.R., Case of the Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua. Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of January 31, 2001. Series C No. 79, par. 149 158 IACHR, Report No. 40/04, Case 12.053, Maya Indigenous Communities of the Toledo District (Belize), October 12, 2004, par. 114. 159 IACHR, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54, 30 December 2009, pars. 1076- 1080. 160 IACHR, ”Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights over their ancestral lands and natural resources – Norms and Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System”, 2010. 161 IACHR, ”Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights over their ancestral lands and natural resources – Norms and Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System”, 2010. 162 IACHR, Report No. 75/02, Case 11.140, Mary and Carrie Dann (United States), December 27, 2002, par. 128. 163 IACHR, Report No. 75/02, Case 11.140, Mary and Carrie Dann (United States), December 27, 2002, par. 128. 164 IACHR, Report No. 40/04, Case 12.053, Maya Indigenous Communities of the Toledo District (Belize), October 12, 2004, par. 155. 165 IACHR, Report No. 40/04, Case 12.053, Maya Indigenous Communities of the Toledo District (Belize), October 12, 2004, par. 155. Á 166 IACHR, Democracy and Human Rights in Venezuela. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II. Doc. 54, 30 December 2009, par. 1054. 167 IACHR, Access to Justice and Social Inclusion: The Road towards Strengthening Democracy in Bolivia. Doc. OEA/Ser.L/V/II, Doc. 34, June 28, 2007, par. 297, Recommendation 3. 168 IACHR, ”Indigenous and tribal peoples’ rights over their ancestral lands and natural resources – Norms and Jurisprudence of the Inter-American Human Rights System”, 2010.