Day: November 2, 2008

http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/files/PDF/shand.pdf

This is a link to a pdf file of a paper written by Peter Shand, a non-aboriginal New Zealander, and presented at the University of British Columbia in February 2000 at an event organized by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.

This paper, written in an easily accessible, entertaining style, looks at the effect that modern art forms (such as fashion) have had on tribal art forms.

Tribal art motifs have been used (with and without permission from the tribes in question) in many avenues outside of their original purpose, and it is hard to protect them via copyright as their origin cannot be traced to any one particular artist.

In this paper, Peter Shand looks at the various ways tribal art is being used today and whether or not it could be possible for copyright laws to accommodate this artform.

An interesting read, written carefully and respectfully from an outsiders viewpoint, this is an excellent resource to include in research on Aboriginal intellectual property rights.

Website: http://bctf.ca/uploadedFiles/About_Us/ServicesHandbook/1AbEdProgram.pdf

There is a section of the BCTF website that describes the Federations policy/beliefs concerning Aboriginal education in British Columbia and the Federations commitment to upholding/improving upon these policies.

The link provided connects to a paper concerning the Aboriginal Education Program in BC. It discusses what is being done, and what the federation would like to see done to improve the graduation statistics for Aboriginal students in BC as well as to help them get more out of their educational experience and feel more included/involved when attending school.

Written from the viewpoint of an Aboriginal teacher, this is an informative paper.

Website: http://aerc.usask.ca/index.html

This is the website for the Aboriginal Education Research Centre, based out of the University of Saskatchewan.

The centre focuses on research relating to Aboriginal Education within Canada, but the site also includes some international content.

This site is very easy to navigate, with informative links clearly shown on the left hand side of the screen.

When navigating through the research areas of the centre, a unique and very useful strategy has been utilized to introduce each subject. A brief but informative overview of the subject is given, followed by a bibliography with links to further, more in-depth readings on the topic.

The centre’s current research emphasis is on Educational Decolonization, but tonnes of information is given on many topics relating to Aboriginal Education.

Website: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/aboriginalplanet/750/resource/global/rewipo-en.asp

This website, although no longer maintained, is a part of the “Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada electronic archives”.

It contains information regarding the status of Indigenous Intellectual Property Rights in Canada, the direction the government is hoping to head in terms of the expansion of the information these rights could cover, and the different organizations/forums relating to this topic.

The site gives brief but very informative descriptions of the different divisions, committees, and organizations concerned with this topic, and helps the uninformed newbie researcher gain some understanding of the depth of this issue.

The site also contains links to related Government of Canada sites pertaining to this subject.

Last updated in 2003, the site is not up-to-date with the current status of this issue in Canada but is a great resource for background information.

Website: http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0338-e.htm

This website is actually a paper, prepared by Tonina Simeone, and hosted on the Library of Parliament website. The different sections of the paper are linked to on the site, making the important information this paper contains easily accessible.

Topics covered by this paper include: “How Does Indigenous Traditional Knowledge Differ from Western Science?”, How to and Why to protect Traditional Knowledge, Limits of current IPRs in protecting Traditional Knowledge and some information on International Initiatives to Protect Traditional Knowledge.

Written in 2004, this paper is a little bit out of date, however it contains a large amount of pertinent information on the subject of Traditional Knowledge and IPRs and is an excellent resource on the subject.