Community Initiatives

Our team members work collaboratively with communities to investigate and address pressing cultural heritage challenges in specific contexts. We support projects in Australia, Canada, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, New Zealand, southern Africa, and the United States, working with groups such as the Inuvialuit, the Penobscot Nation, the Ainu, the Hopi Tribe, and the Moriori. More >

How the Culture of Connoisseurship Impacts Navajo Weavers Today

By helping to sustain the high value of Native American antiquities, some museums inadvertently contribute to the impoverishment of contemporary artisans, writes Kathy M’Closkey. More >

Think Before You Appropriate

Our guide provides advice to designers and marketers on why and how to avoid misappropriation, and underlines the mutual benefits of responsible collaborations with Indigenous artists and communities.

Download the booklet >

On the Blog

Jordan Wilson, exhibition co-curator, writes about why “belongings” replaced terms like “artefacts" or "objects" in c̓əsnaʔəm: The City Before the City. More > 

Collaborative Afro-descendant Archaeology and Anthropology

Relationship-building with the Afro-Ecuadorian community of La Concepción, Ecuador. More >

PUBLIC SYMPOSIUM — DNA and Indigeneity

This half-day event explored the promise and perils of using biological and genetic information to inform understandings of Indigenous identity. Watch the videos>

Welcome

 

The Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project is a seven-year international research initiative based at Simon Fraser University, in British Columbia, Canada. Our work explores the rights, values, and responsibilities of material culture, cultural knowledge and the practice of heritage research.

IPinCH is a collaboration of scholars, students, heritage professionals, community members, policy makers, and Indigenous organizations across the globe.

The project serves as both a practical resource and a network of support for communities and researchers engaged in cultural heritage work.

Project dates: 2008-2016 

 

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