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Ainu Conceptions of Cultural and Natural Heritage
Since 2009, IPinCH has been working with the Hokkaido Ainu Association and Ainu community members in Hokkaido, northern Japan, to address their desire for cultural and intellectual property policies and protocols to protect their heritage.
It was only in 2008 that the Ainu were officially recognized as Japan’s Indigenous population by the government.
A research team consisting of IPinCH Associate Hirofumi Kato (Hokkaido University), Joe Watkins, and George Nicholas have worked since 2009 with Ainu communities and Japanese researchers in Sapporo, Biratori, and Lake Akan to identify community concerns regarding tangible and intangible heritage issues and opportunities. These efforts have been strongly supported by Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (CAIS), an IPinCH partner.
Kato has worked to introduce IPinCH to the Ainu and Japanese research communities and to facilitate information exchange. In this he has been aided by Professor Teruki Tsunemoto, CAIS Director, and Mayumi Okada (an IPinCH Associate), and other CAIS faculty and staff. Tsunemoto attended the 2011 IPinCH Midterm Conference, and presented on “The Recent Development of Ainu Policy in Japan.”
Nicholas and Watkins met twice with Ainu community members in Sapporo and Nibutani in October 2009. They were joined by a larger IPinCH contingent (T.J. Ferguson, Sheila Greer, Diane Strand, and Leigh Kuwanwisiwma) in January 2011 for a symposium at Lake Akan, Hokkaido. Both Strand and Kuwanwisiwma are involved with IPinCH community initiatives (Yukon First Nations and Hopi, respectively).
In November 2013, CAIS and IPinCH sponsored an international symposium on Cultural Tourism and IP in Sapporo, at which Nicholas and Watkins were joined by Carol Ellick, Rachel Giraudo, and David Schaepe. This symposium had a strong focus on corporate social responsibility and provided an opportunity for representatives of municipal governments and industry to meet with the research team and with Ainu community members and leaders.
In November 2015, Kato, Okada, Nicholas and IPinCH Associate Carl-Gosta Ojala participated in the CAIS-funded symposium on The Contribution of Archaeology to Local / Indigenous Communities.
A variety of resources and publications are under development. Several members of the Ainu research team will meet while at the World Archaeological Congress in Kyoto, August 2016, to continue their discussions and planning. The collaboration between Kato, Watkins, and Nicholas will continue after the IPinCH Project formally ends.
Click to read about Ainu Conceptions of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Japanese.
Photos: The IPinCH Team at Lake Akan: (from left): Sheila Greer, Hirofumi Kato, Joe Watkins, TJ Ferguson, George Nicholas, Leigh Kuwanwisiwma, Diane Strand; the Japanese delegation visiting Stanley Park in Vancouver; Museum at Nibutani, shaped like a traditional Ainu (photo: G. Nicholas); Ainu carver Toru Kalzawa (photo: R. Giraudo).
The diversity of the world’s cultures, both past and present, is one of the key attractions of travel. Governments, the tourism industry, and communities work hard to create unforgettable cultural products and experiences.
Indigenous Heritage and Tourism: Theories and Practices on Utilizing the Ainu Heritage, pp.141-151 (edited by Mayumi Okada and Hirofumi Kato, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies)
Indigenous Heritage and Tourism: Theories and Practices on Utilizing the Ainu Heritage, pp. 17-32 (edited by Mayumi Okada and Hirofumi Kato, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies)
Indigenous Heritage and Tourism: Theories and Practices on Utilizing the Ainu Heritage, pp. 5-14 (edited by Mayumi Okada and Hirofumi Kato, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies)
Indigenous Heritage and Tourism: Theories and Practices on Utilizing the Ainu Heritage, pp. 153-157 (edited by Mayumi Okada and Hirofumi Kato, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies).
Tribal Heritage Management in the Southwestern United States
T.J. Ferguson
2011
Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples: Theory and Practice, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, Lake Akan, Hokkaido, Japan, Jan. 18
Yukon First Nations Heritage Programs
Sheila Greer
2011
Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples: Theory and Practice, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, Lake Akan, Hokkaido, Japan, Jan. 18
Sharing Culture and Handling Heritage: Choosing Paths to Reach the Public
Joe Watkins
2011
Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples: Theory and Practice, Hokkaido University Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies, Lake Akan, Hokkaido, Japan, Jan. 18
Developing an Ainu-IPinCH Collaboration to Promote and Protect Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage
George Nicholas
2011
International Symposium on Cultural Resources and Intellectual Properties of Indigenous Peoples, University of Hokkaido, Center for Ainu and Indigenous Studies (Hokkaido, Japan)
In this episode of CJSF's World Community Forum program, Harui Fujita chats with IPinCH Project Director, George Nicholas, about the cultural heritage issues facing the Ainu, Japan's Indigenous peoples, and the relationship that has developed between IPinCH and Ainu community organizations.
When a Simon Fraser University-based global research group’s members attend a symposium in Japan this month, they will highlight the good that can come from healing the relations between former colonizers and colonized people.
It was only in 2008 that the Ainu were officially recognized as Japan’s Indigenous population by the government.
Click to read about Ainu Conceptions of Cultural and Natural Heritage in Japanese. 
