By Kate Hennessy, Natasha Lyons, Dave Schaepe, John R. Welch, Mike Blake, Albert ‘Sonny’ McHalsie, Jane Anderson, Kimberly Christen Withey, Sue Rowley, Eric Kansa, and the Scowlitz First Nation
The "Sq’éwlets: A Stó:lo-Coast Salish community in the Fraser River Valley" project was recently awarded funding from the Virtual Museum of Canada to produce an innovative digital community “biography” centering on the Scowlitz First Nation and its history of collaborative archaeological work. Collaborating with several partner heritage institutions, we are building an accessible, interactive, virtual exhibit that highlights how Sq’éwlets history and archaeology is interconnected with the histories of both their Indigenous and non-Indigenous neighbours. Participatory media production and close attention to intellectual property issues in a digital context are central to this project.
In Fall 2014, we will hold an IPinCH-funded workshop that will bring the Sq’éwlets project team together with the IPinCH Digital Information Systems & Cultural Heritage Working Group. In the course of the workshop we will pilot and evaluate the Traditional Knowledge (TK) licenses being developed by Kimberly Christen Withey, Jane Anderson, and partners as they relate to content being recorded for the Sq’éwlets virtual exhibit. The participatory production of the virtual exhibit provides an ideal and unique context for assessing, refining, and eventually publicizing the TK label and license innovations. We hope that the integration of the TK labeling and licensing into "Sq’éwlets: A Stó:lo-Coast Salish community in the Fraser River Valley" will draw attention to and contribute to the protection of Indigenous intellectual property rights and cultural heritage. We aim to provide constructive feedback to the developers of the TK licenses and labels, to share the results of our workshop with a community-oriented report, and to contribute substantively to the work of the Digital Information Systems & Cultural Heritage Working Group.
Photo: From the "Sq’éwlets: A Stó:lo-Coast Salish community in the Fraser River Valley" kickoff meeting at the Scowlitz First Nation Band Hall in October, 2014. L-R: John Welch, Dana Lepofsky, Lou Hall, Dave Schaepe, Kate Hennessy, Kyle McIntosh, Natasha Lyons, Clifford Hall, Betty Charlie, Keith Carlson, Albert ‘Sonny’ McHalsie.
