This book analyses the legal aspects of international claims by indigenous peoples for the repatriation of their cultural property, and explores what legal norms and normative orders would be appropriate for resolving these claims. To establish context, the book first provides insights into the exceptional legislative responses to the cultural property claims of Native American tribes in the United States and looks at the possible relevance of this national law on the international level. It then shifts to the multinational setting by using the method of legal pluralism and takes into consideration international human rights law, international cultural heritage law, the applicable national laws in the United Kingdom, France and Switzerland, transnational law such as museum codes, and decision-making in extra-legal procedures. In the process, the book reveals the limits of the law in dealing with the growing imperative of human rights in the field, and concludes with three basic insights that are of key relevance for improving the law and decision-making with regard to indigenous peoples’ cultural property.​

Now more than ever, indigenous peoples’ interests in their cultural heritage are in the spotlight. Yet, there is very little literature that comprehensively discusses how existing laws can and cannot be used to address indigenous peoples’ interests. This book assesses how intangible aspects of indigenous cultural heritage (and the tangible objects that hold them) can be protected, within the realm of a broad range of existing legal orders, including intellectual property and related rights, consumer protection law, common law and equitable doctrines, and human rights. It does so by focusing on the New Zealand Māori. The book also looks to the future, analysing the long-awaited Wai 262 report, released in New Zealand by the Waitangi Tribunal in response to allegations that the government had failed in its duty to ensure that the Māori retain chieftainship over their tangible and intangible treasures, as required by the Treaty of Waitangi, signed between the Māori and the British Crown in 1840.

Indigenous rights to heritage have only recently become the subject of academic scholarship. This collection aims to fill that gap by offering the fruits of a unique conference on this topic organised by the University of Lapland with the help of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The conference made clear that important information on Indigenous cultural heritage has remained unexplored or has not been adequately linked with specific actors (such as WIPO) or specific issues (such as free, prior and informed consent). Indigenous leaders explained the impact that disrespect of their cultural heritage has had on their identity, well-being and development. Experts in social sciences explained the intricacies of indigenous cultural heritage. Human rights scholars talked about the inability of current international law to fully address the injustices towards indigenous communities. Representatives of International organisations discussed new positive developments. This wealth of experiences, materials, ideas and knowledge is contained in this important volume.

"The 15 essays in this book began as papers presented at the Seventh Four Societies Conference hosted at Waseda University, Tokyo, in June 2018, by the Japanese Society of International Law (JSIL). The 'Four Societies' conferences are a collaborative initiative of the American Society of International Law (asil), the Australian New Zealand Society of International Law (ANZSIL), the Canadian Council on International Law (CCIL) and JSIL. The biannual conferences, which began in 2006, provide an opportunity for emerging scholars to foster a collaborative network around a common theme"--

Indigenous peoples around the world are seeking greater control over tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In Canada, issues concerning repatriation and trade of material culture, heritage site protection, treatment of ancestral remains, and control over intangible heritage are governed by a complex legal and policy environment. This volume looks at the key features of Canadian, US, and international law influencing indigenous cultural heritage in Canada. Legal and extralegal avenues for reform are examined and opportunities and limits of existing frameworks are discussed. Is a radical shift in legal and political relations necessary for First Nations concerns to be meaningfully addressed?

The book aims to critically analyze the possible legal mechanisms and processes, which could be used by indigenous peoples in the protection and management of their cultural and intellectual property. The book studies the historic and legal context in which the debate on the rights of indigenous peoples has developed. It analyses mechanisms such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS). The book ends with a discussion on the possible courses of action, which indigenous peoples could take in order to improve the levels of protection and management available to them regarding their cultural and intellectual rights.

What happens when ritual practitioners from a small Pacific nation make an intellectual property claim to bungee jumping? When a German company successfully sues to defend its trademark of a Māori name? Or when UNESCO deems ephemeral sand drawings to be "intangible cultural heritage"? In Treasured Possessions, Haidy Geismar examines how global forms of cultural and intellectual property are being redefined by everyday people and policymakers in two markedly different Pacific nations. The New Hebrides, a small archipelago in Melanesia managed jointly by Britain and France until 1980, is now the independent nation-state of Vanuatu, with a population that is more than 95 percent indigenous. New Zealand, by contrast, is a settler state and former British colony that engages with its entangled Polynesian and British heritage through an ethos of "biculturalism" that is meant to involve an indigenous population of just 15 percent. Alternative notions of property, resources, and heritage—informed by distinct national histories—are emerging in both countries. These property claims are advanced in national and international settings, but they emanate from specific communities and cultural landscapes, and they are grounded in an awareness of ancestral power and inheritance. They reveal intellectual and cultural property to be not only legal constructs but also powerful ways of asserting indigenous identities and sovereignties.