On this page, we have used the term Indigenous cultural heritage to mean all components of Indigenous cultures, including but not limited to: dances, artwork, designs, stories, (oral) histories, traditions, protocols, legal systems and knowledges.

There are many essential considerations and protections in different Indigenous cultures that must be respected when you are working with Indigenous cultural heritage. These protections for Indigenous cultural heritage have not been incorporated into Canadian copyright law, and so much Indigenous cultural heritage is not considered protected under current copyright laws. (Brigitte Vézina and Alexis Muscat, Sharing Indigenous cultural heritage online: An overview of GLAM policies, Creative Commons, August 8, 2020)

This problem was raised by Indigenous artists during the 2018 review of the Canadian Copyright Act, held by the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology. The following recommendation was included in the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology final report on the 2018 Copyright Act review:

"Recommendation #5:

• That the Government of Canada consult with Indigenous groups, experts, and other stakeholders on the protection of traditional arts and cultural expressions in the context of Reconciliation, and that this consultation address the following matters, among others: The recognition and effective protection of traditional arts and cultural expressions in Canadian law, within and beyond copyright legislation;
• The participation of Indigenous groups in the development of national and international intellectual property law;
• The development of institutional, regulatory, and technological means to protect traditional arts and cultural expressions..."

Respect for Indigenous cultural heritage is also supported by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. For example, call #45 (subsection four) is to “[r]econcile Aboriginal and Crown constitutional and legal orders to ensure that Aboriginal peoples are full partners in Confederation, including the recognition and integration of Indigenous laws and legal traditions in negotiation and implementation processes involving Treaties, land claims, and other constructive agreements.”

In early December of 2020, the Liberal Government introduced a bill to "begin the process of bringing Canadian law into alignment with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP)." (Ryan Patrick Jones, Liberals introduce bill to implement UN Indigenous rights declaration, Canadian Broadcast Corporation News, December 3, 2020).

"On June 16, Canada’s Senate voted to pass Bill C-15, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (the UNDRIP Act or the Act), into law. The UNDRIP Act received Royal Assent on June 21, marking a historic milestone in Canada’s implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or the Declaration)." (Sander Duncanson, Coleman Brinker, Kelly Twa, Maeve O'Neill Sanger, Federal UNDRIP bill becomes law, Osler, June 22, 2021)

Articles related to United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and Canada's involvement:

• Here's how Canada's UNDRIP bill was strengthened to reject "racist" doctrine of discovery by Teresa Wright, The Canadian Press, Global News, June 19, 2021;
• Implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in Canada, Department of Justice Canada, Government of Canada;
  • Canadian governments and the United Nations Declaration on the Right of Indigenous People, Government of Canada, Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada;
• UN declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, Assembly of First Nations;
• United Nations declaration on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, article 11, sections 1 and 2, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs Indigenous Peoples;
• UNDRIP's place in Canadian law by Dale Smith, National Magazine, December 10, 2021.

Indigenous cultural heritage has been copied, claimed, misused and misappropriated countless times. An example of Indigenous Knowledges and misappropriation can be found in the use of a sacred emblem and belonging to the Zia people of New Mexico, USA. More information about the emblem and its use can be found at the following:

• Favorite sun by Kate Nelson, New Mexico Magazine, January 2019;
• Indigenous knowledge misappropriation: The case of the Zia sun symbol explained at WIPO by Catherine Saez, Intellectual Property Watch, December 11, 2018 (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

In Canada, the Maliseet First Nation lost many of their oral stories to Laszlo Szabo in the 1970s, when he obtained the copyright for making tape recordings of the stories. The community was able to reclaim and publish their own stories over forty years later. More information and details about this can be found at the following:

• Rethinking copyright for Indigenous creative works by Chidi Oquamanam, Policy Options, June 28, 2017;
• Who owns Indigenous cultural and intellectual property? by Andrea Bear Nicholas, Policy Options, June 27, 2017.

Our goal in creating this web page is to acknowledge that existing Canadian copyright law is not enough, progress is needed and we have much to learn. We must follow the laws, protocols, and processes (that is, as determined by Indigenous Elders) in order to respect the circumstances under which Indigenous cultural heritage may and may not be shared.

When conducting Indigenous research, there are many important considerations to ensure that the research is done in a respectful and good way. Memorial University has compiled a helpful, living web page of frequently asked questions about Indigenous research:

• For researchers: Doing Indigenous research in a good way 

A few examples of questions included on the web page are:

• I want to work with Indigenous groups. Where do I start?
• Are there existing principles or best practices for doing research with Indigenous groups respectfully?
• How does intellectual property work with Indigenous peoples?

Per University of Saskatchewan policies: Responsible Conduct of Research Policy

• "University Members are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the scholarly standards and practices that are generally accepted within the relevant scholarly field and following them according to the highest standards of research integrity. University Members are responsible for:
  e: Respecting the inherent and collective sovereign rights of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people to ownership and governance of their data."

Research and data - books/journal articles

• Bannerman, S. (2016). International copyright and access to knowledge, Cambridge University Press; 
• Callison, C., Roy, L. and LeCheminant, GA. (eds). (2016). Indigenous notions of ownership and libraries, archives and museums, Walter de Gruyter GmbH;
• Kovach, M. (2021). Indigenous methodologies: characteristics, conversations, and contexts, University of Toronto Press;
• Littletree, S., Belarde-Lewis, M., and Duarte, M. (2020). Centering relationality: A conceptual model to advance Indigenous knowledge organization practices, Knowledge Organization, 47, No. 05, 410 - 426;
• Mertens, M. D., Cram, F. and Bagele C. (eds). (2013). Indigenous pathways into social research: voices of a new generation, Left Coast Press;
• Mills, A. Learning to listen: Archival sound recordings and Indigenous cultural and intellectual property, Archivaria 83 (1), 2017, 109 - 124;
• Seelye, M. The protection of Indigenous intellectual property rights, FIMS Presentations, 47, 2017;
  
• Tuhiwai Smith, L. (2012). Decolonizing methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples, Zed Books; 
• Walter, M. (2016). Indigenous statistics: a quantitative research methodology, Taylor & Francis Group;
• Walter, M., Kujutai, T., Carrol, S. and Rodriguez-Lonebear, D. (eds). (2020). Indigenous data sovereignty and policy, Routledge (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).

Research and data - online resources

• CARE principles for Indigenous data governance, Global Indigenous Data Alliance;
• Collaboratory for Indigenous data governance, Research, Policy, and Practice for Indigenous Data Sovereignty;
• Data conversations – Indigenous data and its discontents by Deborah Lee, Kevin Read, Sarah Rutley, and Catherine Boden, October 20, 2020, Brain-Work: The C-EBLIP Blog, University Library, University of Saskatchewan;
• Discussion Paper: Exploration of the impact of Canada's information management regime on First Nations data sovereignty (August 2022), First Nations Information Governance Centre;
• Indigenous data sovereignty, Simon Fraser University;
• Indigenous research methodologies, University of British Columbia;
• Introduction to intellectual property rights and the protection of Indigenous knowledge and cultural expressions in Canada, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, Government of Canada;
• Indigenous research guide, intellecutal property rights and Copyright, University of Alberta; 
• Indigenous studies, research guide, University of Saskatchewan;
• IPinCH (Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage: Theory, Practice, Policy, Ethics), Simon Fraser University;
• Intellectual property and genetic resources, Traditional Knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, World Intellectual Property Organization (CC BY 3.0 IGO);
• Intergovernmental committee on intellectual property and genetic resources, Traditional Knowledge and folklore, World Intellectual Property Organization;
• Research data management: Indigenous data sovereignty, research guide, University of Saskatchewan;
• The First Nations principles of OCAP®, First Nations Information Governance Centre.

If you are thinking about using an open education resource (OER) for your class, the Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning provides detailed information on Open Education Practices to get you started. If you are starting the process of creating an open textbook that includes Indigenous Knowledges, there are some best practices that not only include the 5R's of openness (retain, reuse, revise, remix, redistribute) as described by David Wiley in his article The access compromise and the 5th R (CC BY 4.0), but also when creating relationships with Indigenous partners and communities:

1. Relationship building must come first.
2. Nothing by us without us.
3. Integrate OCAP® principles into open educational resources development.
4. Not all Indigenous Knowledge wants to be open.
5. How information is shared matters.

These best practices above are discussed in more detail in the white paper Community first: Open practices and Indigenous Knowledge by Krista McCracken and Skylee-Storm Hogan.

Additionally, there are the re-developed Indigenous 6R's of open educational resources. The Indigenous 6R's are a combination of the original 4R's by Kirkness & Barnahardt (2001) The Four R's Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, Responsibility and the University of British Columbia Longhouse Teachings. 

1. Respect – for Indigenous cultural identity, communities, and topics.
2. Relationships – connects to the concept of all of our relations and building relations with communities.
3. Responsibility – responsibility to share only when we are allowed, and to publish in an ethical way while considering ownerships,protocols and community practices.
4. Reverence – respect for the sacred.
5. Relevance - legitimize and incorporate Indigenous Knowledges into curriculum when it makes sense.
6. Reciprocity – giving back.

Please view the presentation by Kayla Lar-Son where the information above was provided and to learn more about the Indigenous 6R's and OER's: Indigenous open educational resources: Respectfully uplifting community voices, BC Campus, May 24, 2022.

• Open dialogues: Daniel Heath Justice on decolonizing open by Will Engle and Valeria De La Vega, Centre for Teaching, Learning and Technology, University of British Columbia, August 19, 2020 (CC BY-NC 4.0);
• Open science beyond Open Access: For and with communities. A step towards the decolonization of knowledge by Chan, L., Hall, B., Piron, F., Tandon, R., and Williams, L., July 2020, Canadian Commission for UNESCO’s IdeaLab, Ottawa, Canada (CC BY-NC 4.0);
• Perspectives on openness: Honouring Indigenous ways of knowing, YorkSpace, York University, October 20, 2020 (CC BY-NC 4.0);
• Research, data and Indigenous ways of knowing presented by Chadwick Cowie, Johnson Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy (past events archive), University of Regina, May 11, 2022;
• Rez dogs and Open Access presented by Jessie Loyer, Can we decolonize open? An Open Access week event at KPU Richmond, October 22, 2019, Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

• Community digital archives toolkit, Saskatchewan Polytechnic;
• Indigitization - Tools for Digitizing and Sustaining Indigenous Knowledge;
• Indigitization: Supporting an Indigenous path to digital by Gerry Lawson, Museum of Anthropology at The University of British Columbia;
• Social Networks and Archival Context 
  • Using SNAC for Research - History research tool;
• The Sustainable Heritage Network;
• Wemigwans, J. A digital bundle: Exploring the impact of Indigenous knowledge online through FourDirectionsTeachings.com, Thesis, June 2016;
  •  FourDirectionsTeachings.com
    • "The goal for the project was to create an engaging site where people could experience Indigenous knowledge and philosophy and where educators could incorporate the site into their curriculum. FourDirectionsTeachings.com honors oral traditions by creating an environment where visitors are encouraged to listen with intent as each elder/traditional teacher shares a teaching from their perspective on the richness and value of cultural traditions from their nation."
• Wemigwans, J. (2018). A digital bundle: Protecting and promoting Indigenous Knowledge online, University of Regina Press.

Databases

• Indigenous documentary heritage initiatives - Library and Archives Canada;
• X̱wi7x̱wa Library, The University of British Columbia;
  • Open Indigenous content.

• Aboriginal research resources, University Library, University of Saskatchewan;
• First Nations, Métis, and Inuit content & perspectives across the curriculum (FNMI, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, Aboriginal, Aboriginal ways of knowing, Aboriginal perspectives, K-12 curriculum) research guide, University of Saskatchewan;
• Indigenizing academia by Stryker Calvez, Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Saskatchewan;
• Indigenous films, research guide, University of Saskatchewan;
• Indigenous curriculum resources, The Learning Portal, College Libraries Ontario;
• Indigenous Saskatchewan encyclopedia, University of Saskatchewan;
• Indigenous ways of knowing, Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, University of Calgary (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0);
  • Indigenous Academic Integrity, prepared by Keeta Cladue;
  • Indigenous Ways of Knowing Course Design, by Dr. Gabrielle Lindstrom, PhD, and Lorelei Anselmo;
• I-Portal (Indigenous studies portal research tool), University of Saskatchewan;
• ReconciliAction resources, research guide, University of Saskatchewan.

• Indigenous protocols for the visual arts, Canadian Artist's Representation;
• Indigenous Protocols dot Art;
• On-screen protocols & pathways: A media production guide to working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities, cultures, concepts and stories by Marcia Nickerson.

Style guides

• Younging, G. (2018). Elements of Indigenous style: A guide for writing by and about Indigenous peoples, Brush Education;
• APA Style (Seventh edition): Citing Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions of Indigenous Peoples - nscc Libraries;
• Editing and reviewing Indigenous research & writing by Geoffrey Boyd and Vanessa Welz (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) – Based on Elements of Indigenous style: A guide for writing by and about Indigenous Peoples;
• Indigenous Archives Collective; Faulkhead, S; Thorpe, K; Sentance, N; Booker, L; & R Barrowcliffe. (2023) Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges, Indigenous Archives Collective and the UTS Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Citation guides

• APA page;
• MLA page;
• in-text citation page of the APA Citation Style guide; and
• Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers on the APA Citation Style guide.

These templates were first developed by Lorisia MacLeod, a librarian at NorQuest College in Edmonton, in consultation with Elders and other librarians. We appreciate and acknowledge the time and effort it took to develop these guidelines. (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) (NorQuest details and exceptions)

• NorQuest College Library: Indigenous education - Citation guide;
• MacLeod, Lorisia. More Than personal communication: Templates For citing Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies 5 (1), 2021 (CC BY 4.0).

Sui generis is a Latin phrase that means "Of its own kind or class; i.e., the only one of its own kind; peculiar." (The Law Dictionary, featuring Black's Law Dictionary Free Online Legal Dictionary 2nd Ed.)."In the context of the Traditional Knowledge discourse, the term is commonly used to describe new laws and legislation developed exclusively to protect Traditional Knowledge." (Greg Young-ing, Intellectual property rights, legislated protection, sui generis models and ethical access in the transformation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Thesis, October 2006)

There are ongoing projects from countries and regional organizations which help to protect Indigenous cultural heritages. It is the goal of these projects to offer ways of protecting Indigenous heritage that are not included in colonial copyright laws.

• Compilation of information on national and regional sui generis regimes for the intellectual property protection of Traditional Knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, dated Jnaury 28, 2020, World Intellectual Property Organization;
• Local Contexts (Traditional Knowledge labels and licenses) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
  • "...an initiative to support Native, First Nations, Aboriginal, and Indigenous communities in the management of their intellectual property and cultural heritage specifically within the digital environment.";
• Mukurtu (MOOK-oo-too) content management system
  • "The free, mobile, and open source platform built with Indigenous communities to manage and share digital cultural heritage."

Examples

• Sq’éwlets & Stó:lō-Coast Salish community in the Fraser River Valley
  • "Our goal for this project is to tell our Sq’éwlets history in our own way. It is important to connect our youth with their history so they know who they are."
  • Example of Local Contexts (Traditional Knowledge labels).
• Voices of the Land
  • "is a digital public space that supports communities to create, share, discover, and celebrate Indigenous content online."
  • Example of Mukurtu CMS and Local Contexts (Traditional Knowledge labels).
• Whakatōhea Waiata (University of Waikato) - TK open to collaboration
  •  Example of Local Contexts (Traditional Knowledge labels) used in a downloadable app.
    • Google Play
    • Apple 
• Wilson L. and Barrowcliffe R. Green Ribbon and Blue Ribbon Stories: Applying a Bidjara Way of Knowing to Understanding Records, Archives & Manuscripts, 50(2), 2023, pp. 43-59 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0).
  • Example of Local Contexts (Traditional Knowledge labels) used in a journal article.

What examples come to mind when you think about cultural appropriation? If you do an online search of Native American Halloween costumes, results will include an abundance of images of non-Indigenous people of all ages wearing "inspired" costumes with headdresses, weapons and are then posed in a stereotypical fashion. Or Pharrell donning a headdress for a magazine cover. Is this cultural appropriation? What about Grey Owl? An Englishman assuming the identity of an Indigenous person and their heritage. Imagine you attend a gallery exhibit of art "inspired" by Indigenous art but created by a non-Indigenous person. Does that art still have the same meaning and value behind the style, shapes, lines, patterns, form, beings, and colours represented in it? Consider the following articles:

• 'Headdress' is a doc you need to watch — especially on #NationalAboriginalDay by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Life, updated June 21, 2017;
• Toronto gallery cancels show after concerns artist 'bastardizes' Indigenous art by Shanifa Nasser, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News, updated May 10, 2017;
• Fake art hurts Indigenous artists as appropriators profit by Francesca Fionda, the Discourse, November 30, 2018;
• Cultural appropriation keeps happening because clear laws simply don’t exist by Brigitte Vézina, Toronto Star, December 22, 2019.

These examples of cultural appropriation, as well as additional readings listed in the book/journals and online subsections below, demonstrate the importance of respecting and protecting the traditions, stories, spirituality and culture present in much Indigenous art. There are inherent issues in non-Indigenous peoples capitalizing on Indigenous work without acknowledgement or permission. For so many years, the cultures of Indigenous groups and Indigenous people of Canada have been stripped from them because of the Indian Act enacted in 1876, residential schools (1880s to late the 1990s) and the Sixties Scoop. In its own way, cultural appropriation is a continuation of this mistreatment.

Cultural appreciation

But what if I want to wear something that was designed and sewn by an Indigenous artist like moccasins or beaded jewelry, or wear a ribbon skirt for a Grounding Circle or Ceremony at the Gordon Oakes Red Bear Student Centre? Yes, yes and YES!

Author and radio host Rosanna Deerchild states that cultural appreciation, "truly honours our nations’ arts and cultures. You take the time to learn and interact, to gain understanding of a culture, or cultures, different from your own. It is a cultural exchange based on mutual respect and the key is consent and participation. If it is about us, it must include us.” (Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation, Canadian CBC News, June 1, 2017)

• Cultural appreciation of contemporary Indigenous music in Canada, UBC Wiki, University of British Columbia;
• Cultural appropriation of Indigenous cultures in North America by Natasha Byrne, U Multicultural Channel, January 11, 2021;
• Cultural appropriation vs. appreciation, Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario;
• How to culturally appreciate and not culturally appropriate by Donia Tazi, Dazed, December 9, 2015;
• Racially conscious guide, Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation.

Cultural appropriation - books/journal articles

• Berman, T. (ed). (2012). No deal! Indigenous arts and the politics of possession, School for Advanced Research Press;
• Fennn, Stewart, Grey Owl in the white settler wilderness: “Imaginary Indians” in Canadian culture and the humanities, Law, Culture and the Humanities, Feb 2018, Vol. 14 (1),  161 - 181;
• Udy, Vanessa, The appropriation of Aboriginal cultural heritage: Examining the uses and pitfalls of the Canadian intellectual property regime, Robic, December 10, 2014;
• Young, James O. (2008). Cultural appropriation and the arts, Blackwell Publishing;
• Young, James O. and Brunk, G. C. (eds). (2009). The ethics of cultural appropriation, Wiley Blackwell;
• Ziff, B. and Roa, P. V. (eds). (1997). Borrowed power: Essays on cultural appropriation, Rutgers University Press.

Cultural appropriation - online resources

• Curbing cultural appropriation in the fashion industry by Brigitte Vézina, CIGI Papers No. 213, April 3, 2019 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0);
• Cultural appropriation vs. artistic licence: How far have we really come? by Zuelkha Nathoo, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News, updated May 14, 2017;
• Cultural appropriation in fashion: Is copyright the answer? by Brigitte Vézina, ABC Copyright Conference 2019 presentation (CC BY-NC-SA 2.5 CA), HARVEST;
• Ensuring respect for Indigenous cultures: A moral rights approach by Brigitte Vézina, CIGI Papers No. 243, May 29, 2020 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0);
• From ‘appropriation prize’ controversy, A new Indigenous writing award is born by Marsha Lederman, The Globe and Mail, October 19, 2017; 
  • Indigenous Voices Awards organized by Indigenous Literary Studies Association;
• Guide to intellectual property and copyright, Shared Spaces, University of Saskatchewan Art Galleries & Collection;
• Native/American fashion: Inspiration, appropriation, and cultural identity symposium (April 22, 2017 - YouTube, PDF Guide), National Museum of the American Indian;
• On cultural appropriation, Canadians are hypocrites by Robert Jago, The Walrus, updated Nov. 11, 2019;
  • Introducing B.C.'s hairy giants, by J.W. Burns, Maclean's, April 1, 1929;
• Protect and promote your culture - A practical guide to intellectualproperty for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, 2017, World Intellectual Property Organization (CC BY 3.0 IGO);
• Why cultural appropriation is disrespectful, Indigenous Corporate Training Inc., October 4, 2020.

Rematriation

• Gray, Robin R. R. Rematriation: Ts'msyen law, rights of relationality, and protocols of return, Native American and Indigenous Studies, volume 9, issue 1, Spring 2022, 1 - 27
  • "Rematriation is a decolonial alternative to repatriation, and it is the desired pathway for return.";
• Kuokkanen, R. J. (2019). Restructuring relations: Indigenous self-determination, governance, and gender, Oxford University Press;
• Leonard, Kelsey, Dominique David-Chavez, et al. Water Back: A Review Centering Rematriation and Indigenous Water Research Sovereignty. Water Alternatives, 16, no. 2, 2023, 374–428
  • "... describes the process of returning Water, Land, culture, and spirituality to Indigenous women to address the ongoing impacts of colonialism, patriarchy, and gender-based violence."
• Maracle, Lee. (1996). I am woman: A native perspective on sociology and feminism, Press Gang Publishers;
• Rematriation
  • "Rematriation is a Haudenosaunee-led, digital storytelling platform connecting Haudenosaunee and Indigenous women across Turtle Island and around the world.";
• What is Rematriation? Sogorea Te’ Land Trust Office
  • "Rematriation weaves traditional and cultural knowledge back in harmony with the land.".

Repatriation

• Creating a New Reality: Repatriation, Reconciliation and Moving Forward by Jodi Simkin, Canadian Commission UNESCOls IdeaLab, (April 2020), found in Key themes in Indigenous cultural heritage today;
• Indigenous Repatriation Handbook prepared by Jisgang Nika Collison, Sdaahl K̲’awaas Lucy Bell, Lou-ann Neel, Royal British Columbia Museum;
• Repatriation in Canada: A Guide for Communities produced by the Archiving Knowledge: Centering
  Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Community-Based Archives project, prepared by Rebecca L. Bourgeois, (CC BY-NC 4.0).

Books/journal articles

• Battiste, M. and Youngblood Henderson, J. [Sa'ke'j]. (2000). Protecting Indigenous knowledge and heritage: A global challenge, Purich;
• Callison, C., Ludbrook, A., Owen, V. and Nayyer, K. Engaging respectfully with Indigenous knowledges: Copyright, customary law, and cultural memory institutions in Canada, KULA: Knowledge Creation, Dissemination, and Preservation Studies, 5 (1), 2021 (CC BY 4.0);
• Gray, L. (2011). First Nations 101, Adaawx Publishing;
• Loyer, J. (2021). Collections are our relatives disrupting the singular, white man’s joy that shaped collections, The Collector and the Collected: Decolonizing Area Studies Librarianship, Library Juice Press (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0);
• Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous writes: A guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit issues in Canada, HighWater Press;
• Youngblood Henderson, J. [Sa'ke'j]. The Indigenous domain and intellectual property rights, Lakehead Law Journal, Vol 4, No 2, 2021.

Online resources

• A Linguist's Code of Conduct: Guidelines for Engaging in Linguistic Work with Indigenous Peoples by Anna Belew and Amanda Holmes, Endangered Languages Project, First Peoples' Cultural Council, February 23, 2023;
• Ay, there’s the rub: When you cannot (or should not) copy something despite its lack of copyright protection by Hugh Stephens, Hugh Stephens Blog, Insights on International Copyright Issues, January 18, 2021;
• Can copyright law protect Indigenous culture? If not, what is the answer? by Hugh Stephens, Hugh Stephens Blog, Insights on International Copyright Issues, October 8, 2019;
• Dewemaagannag/My Relations Indigenous Engagement Guide by Geneviève Sioui and Amanda Shawayahamish, Office of Community Engagement, Concordia University;
• IP and Traditional Knowledge Language Pack, World Intellectual Property Organization (CC BY 4.0);
• Office of the Treaty Commissioner;
• Position Statement Indigenous Knowledge in Canada's Copyright Act, Canadian Federation of Library Associations;
• Saskatchewan Indigenous Cultural Centre.
  

"As we gather here today, we acknowledge we are on Treaty 6 Territory and the Homeland of the Métis. We pay our respect to the First Nations and Métis ancestors of this place and reaffirm our relationship with one another." University Council 

As Treaty people, we recognize that treaties are “mutually beneficial arrangements that guarantee a co-existence between the treaty parties. Newcomers and their descendants benefit from the wealth generated from the land and the foundational rights provided in the treaties. They built their society in this new land where some were looking for political and religious freedoms. Today, there are misconceptions that only First Nations people are part of the treaties, but in reality, both parties are part of treaty. All people in Saskatchewan are treaty people.” (Office of the Treaty Commissioner, Treaty essential learnings: We are all treaty people, August 2008, page 16)

If you are interested in writing your own land acknowledgement for your class, presentation, personal or reconciliation reasons, find below some resources to help guide you.

• Indigenous voices program, Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Saskatchewan;
• Keeptwo, Suzanne. (2020). We all go back to the land: The who, why, and how of land acknowledgments, Brush Education Inc;
• Land acknowledgements, Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Saskatchewan.

   "as long as the sun shines, the grass grows and the rivers flow"