ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the emphasis on material culture (i.e. things) has skewed our understanding of "heritage" and what should be preserved, particularly in the context of Indigenous cultural property. This has had a significant impact upon Indigenous peoples worldwide, and been detrimental to their identity and wellbeing, as well as limiting the benefits they have received from research into their heritage. The chapter brief looks at how cultural property is acknowledged differently by international conventions and local (i.e. provincial) heritage policies in Canada. This sets the stage for an examination of differences between Western and Indigenous perspectives on cultural property, and then of the subsequent challenges for protecting Indigenous heritage. The chapter then discusses some of the responses, synergies, and alternative strategies that have arisen in response through a range of examples drawn from the IPinCH Project, an international initiative that addresses intellectual property issues affecting Indigenous peoples.
