From Obstruction to Decolonization? 155
wrought by the historical trauma of colonial legacies: “Forced displacement and
sedentarization on reservations as well as boarding/residential school systems
are flagrant examples of states preventing the reproduction of I ndigenous livelihoods, languages, and cultures, which are intrinsically linked” (ibid: 2). Public
health depends upon revitalization of indigenous foodways, medicines, as well
as livelihoods – the destruction of which has led to health crises. “Historical
trauma is also one of the root causes of violence suffered disproportionately
by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada” (ibid: 2).
Recovering indigenous health necessitates supporting “the repatriation and
restoration of Indigenous languages, knowledge and related information, and
artefacts” (ibid.: 4). Only with biocultural restorations and repatriations, can biological diversity itself recover from the current mass extinctions and erosions.
The third Policy Brief outlines the need for “Supporting Biocultural
Diversity” through “Information and Communication Technologies” – which is
centered as its subtitle (Sarrazin & Scott, 2020c). Indeed, digital knowledge on
biodiversity has become crux to their analog reality. This brief dives in to how
important and contested data on biodiversity is – from big datasets to apps, videos to GIS maps. It asserts a goal of “Data sovereignty and knowledge integrity”
through “Culture and language preservation and revitalization” through such
digital methods as intergenerational biocultural videos and community-led and
controlled ecological mapping.
The fourth and final Policy Brief guides the “Safeguarding Biocultural
Diversity: Territorial Defense in Extractive Contexts” (Sarrazin & Scott,
2020b). Moving through and beyond “Free, prior, informed consent”, “Public
Consultations”, “Private Negotiations”, this brief outlines the need for and the
methods of supporting “Community protocols, rules, and management plans”
and “Community-based assessment and monitoring” of extractive industries on
indigenous lands, waterways, and people. Policies, the brief recommends, need
to ensure the UNDRIP as the bare – but non-negotiable – minimum.
Biocultural and Traditional Knowledge Labels and
CARE Principles
Amidst the impasse of (neo)liberal internationalism enabling collusion of nationstates and corporate capitalism, indigenous-led initiatives remain strategic and
resourceful. The intractable case of intellectual property regimes illustrates
the steep obstacles and the creative resistance. Biocultural rights and protocols stand as exemplary alternatives to appropriative tendencies of (neo)liberal
internationalism.
Any analysis of biocultural initiatives in the U.S. would need to learn from
TK and BC Labels and Notices. Begun in 2011 with an organization called
Local Contexts, these Labels strive to counter coloniality of intellectual property
rights with assertions of indigenous knowledge and indigenous data sovereignty.
Though the TK and BC Labels began in Maori contexts, indigenous leaders and
wrought by the historical trauma of colonial legacies: “Forced displacement and
sedentarization on reservations as well as boarding/residential school systems
are flagrant examples of states preventing the reproduction of I ndigenous livelihoods, languages, and cultures, which are intrinsically linked” (ibid: 2). Public
health depends upon revitalization of indigenous foodways, medicines, as well
as livelihoods – the destruction of which has led to health crises. “Historical
trauma is also one of the root causes of violence suffered disproportionately
by Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people in Canada” (ibid: 2).
Recovering indigenous health necessitates supporting “the repatriation and
restoration of Indigenous languages, knowledge and related information, and
artefacts” (ibid.: 4). Only with biocultural restorations and repatriations, can biological diversity itself recover from the current mass extinctions and erosions.
The third Policy Brief outlines the need for “Supporting Biocultural
Diversity” through “Information and Communication Technologies” – which is
centered as its subtitle (Sarrazin & Scott, 2020c). Indeed, digital knowledge on
biodiversity has become crux to their analog reality. This brief dives in to how
important and contested data on biodiversity is – from big datasets to apps, videos to GIS maps. It asserts a goal of “Data sovereignty and knowledge integrity”
through “Culture and language preservation and revitalization” through such
digital methods as intergenerational biocultural videos and community-led and
controlled ecological mapping.
The fourth and final Policy Brief guides the “Safeguarding Biocultural
Diversity: Territorial Defense in Extractive Contexts” (Sarrazin & Scott,
2020b). Moving through and beyond “Free, prior, informed consent”, “Public
Consultations”, “Private Negotiations”, this brief outlines the need for and the
methods of supporting “Community protocols, rules, and management plans”
and “Community-based assessment and monitoring” of extractive industries on
indigenous lands, waterways, and people. Policies, the brief recommends, need
to ensure the UNDRIP as the bare – but non-negotiable – minimum.
Biocultural and Traditional Knowledge Labels and
CARE Principles
Amidst the impasse of (neo)liberal internationalism enabling collusion of nationstates and corporate capitalism, indigenous-led initiatives remain strategic and
resourceful. The intractable case of intellectual property regimes illustrates
the steep obstacles and the creative resistance. Biocultural rights and protocols stand as exemplary alternatives to appropriative tendencies of (neo)liberal
internationalism.
Any analysis of biocultural initiatives in the U.S. would need to learn from
TK and BC Labels and Notices. Begun in 2011 with an organization called
Local Contexts, these Labels strive to counter coloniality of intellectual property
rights with assertions of indigenous knowledge and indigenous data sovereignty.
Though the TK and BC Labels began in Maori contexts, indigenous leaders and