This is a Traditional Knowledge Policy produced by the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun Heritage & Education Department in 2008. The First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun Government adopted the policy “in order to start discussion and consultation to further develop and strengthen the protection and preservation of its traditional knowledge”. It is interesting to read how the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyak Dun is responding to the fact that Intellectual Property Rights do not provide adequate protection.
Author Archives: Colleen Formisano
Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights
This is a link to a discussion paper on Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights produced by the Assembly of First Nations. It is 20 pages in total and makes interesting reading. The document is not dated but it contains a reference to an article published in 2009 in the suggested reading section. Related links are also included at the end of the document.
The Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS)
The Center for American Indian Research and Native Studies (CAIRNS) “is an Indian-controlled non-profit research and education center that is committed to advancing knowledge and understanding of American Indian communities and issues important to them by developing quality educational resources and innovative projects that acknowledge and incorporate tribal perspectives, and by serving as a meeting ground for peoples and ideas that support those perspectives”. The site contains information on a number of research topics, links to useful sites and educational resources.
The Reciprocal Research Network
The Reciprocal Research Network (RRN) is “an online tool to facilitate reciprocal and collaborative research about cultural heritage from the Northwest Coast of British Columbia”. Interestingly, the site enables people to collaborate on shared projects and seems to really encourage people to work together and to share their research. The RRN claims that it stands out from other similar sites because of the commitment to collaboration: it was co-developed by the Musqueam Indian Band, the Stó:lō Nation/Tribal Council, the U’mista Cultural Society and the Museum of Anthropology.
Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre
The Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre site contains resources focused on information about the Coast Salish, particularly the Stó:lō. Originally established by the Aboriginal Rights and Title department, the body seeks to support and encourage all the Stó:lō to re-establish, protect and assert self-government through research, documentation and communication of Stó:lō rights and title. The Library contains additional resources such as maps, transcripts, oral history, photographs, video recordings, archaeological reports and unpublished material.
Australian Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights
There seems to have been some really good work produced on Australian Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights. The Our Culture: Our Future (1999) report provides a comprehensive insight into Indigenous cultural and intellectual property protection. The New Tracks (2012) document is an interesting response to the call for feedback from Indigenous people on future directions about Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property.
Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society Journal
The Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society Journal “is a peer-reviewed, online Open Access journal committed to supporting and advancing decolonization scholarship, practice, and activism within and, more importantly, beyond and against, the academy” (regardless of discipline and field). This appears to be a potentially important research link.
Union of BC Indian Chiefs
The Union of BC Indian Chiefs states their mandate as being “to support projects that promote and provide practical education, conduct community-grounded research, disseminate knowledge and support grassroots project of BC First Nations communities.” A lot of the links at this site are broken (it appears as though they are transitioning to the new site) but the online resources links still work, and there are a number of interesting resources available here. Also, the UBCIC Research site contains useful information relating to specific land claims research (note that the research is directed by the First Nation, with all the information gathered remaining the property of the First Nation). They have also produced a comprehensive research manual.
Cultural Survival
Daniel mentioned Cultural Survival Indigenous Rights Radio in his module 1 weblog entries, which prompted me to take a look. The organization Cultural Survival “partners with Indigenous communities to defend their lands, languages, and cultures”. Interestingly, Cultural Survival claims to have consultative status with the United Nations and there are some great success stories on the site. The organization claims that its publication, Cultural Survival Quarterly, “provides the world’s most comprehensive source of information about indigenous groups, chronicling the problems that confront 600 million native peoples”.
Government of Canada: Panel on Research ethics
The Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans is a joint policy of Canada’s three federal research agencies (relating to Health, Natural Sciences and Engineering and Social Sciences and Humanities). This is the 2nd edition (dated 2014) which now includes a chapter on “Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada”. Chapter 9 is intended to provide a framework for the ethical conduct of research involving Indigenous peoples. Although it sounds dry, it is actually a pretty interesting read.