Professor Dr. Erica-Irene A. Daes
CHAIRPERSON - RAPPORTEUR OF THE UNITED NATIONS WORKING GROUP ON INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS

The Protecting Knowledge conference Keynote Address, Defending Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage (PDF).  See also The Draft Principles and Guidelines on the Heritage of Indigenous Peoples is the Annex of the DISCRIMINATION AGAINST INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: Protection of the Heritage of Indigenous People.  This report is available in English, Espagnol and Francais.

Dr. Daes presented at the Roundtable On Intellectual Property and Indigenous Peoples (FRANCAIS or ESPAGNOL) held in Geneva, July 23 and 24, 1998 and was hosted by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

At this Roundtable, Dr. Daes presented the paper Some Observations and Current Developments on the Intellectual Property of Indigenous Peoples.  (This paper can be downloaded in FRANCAIS and ESPAGNOL) and Human Rights of Indigenous Peoples: Report of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations on its seventeenth session (E/CN.4/Sub.2/1999/19 -- 12 August 1999.  This report can also be viewed in FRANCAIS and ESPAGNOL).

Keynote Address
Madame Erica-Irene Daes -
Chairperson - Rapporteur Of The United Nations Working Group On Indigenous Populations
Defending Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage (PDF or Word).

Forest Resources Panel
Charlene Higgins
Policies and Politics: Impacts of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Intergovernmental Forum on Forests on Indigenous Peoples

Art Panel
Lou-ann Neel
Dianne Biin - Consortium of Indigenous Arts
By Design: The Protection of Intellectual and Creative Rights (PDF)

Peter Shand
University of Auckland & King's College, London
Can Copyright be Reconciled with First Nations’ Interests in Visual Arts? (PDF)

International Human Rights Overview
Shelley Wright
University of Sydney
Approaches to International Human Rights, Self-Determination and Indigenous Cultural Sovereignty (PDF)

Sacred Sites Panel
Lucy Mulenkei
Indigenous Information Network
Sacred Sites (PDF)

The St'át'imc Nation issued the statement From Time Out of Mind: Statement of Proprietary Rights Over All Species on Our Traditional Territory (only available in PDF).

Briefing Memorandum for Participants for the Protecting Knowledge: Traditional Resource Rights in the New Millennium conference titled A Treaty among Indigenous Nations on the Protection of Native Peoples’ Cultural Property Rights: An Exercise of Indigenous National Sovereignty and International Relations (PDF).  Prepared jointly by The Center for World Indigenous Studies, Morning Star Institute and the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute.

View the Treaty 8 Tribal Association Traditional Use Study Conference Brief prepared for the Protecting Knowledge: Traditional Resource Rights in the New Millennium conference titled Sharing the Knowledge: A First Nations Perspective (PDF).

Provisional Notes (PDF) by Leon Sadownik, Treaty 8 Tribal Association (T8TA). Please note that it was not the intention of the author to make a literal translation of speakers’ words but to grasp their meaning.

Valerie Philips was one of the speakers in our TRIPS Review & The Next World Trade Round session.  She has graciously allowed us to post a draft of her paper Terminator and Traitor Technology:  The Indigenous Response (only available in PDF) which she presented at the American Bar Association's 3rd Annual Biotechnology Roundtable: Liability and Labeling of Genetically Modified Organisms. The draft paper is not for reproduction or publication.

Alison Johnston's participated as one of the panelists for the Ecotourism Panel and has allowed us to post her article Ecotourism: An Industry on Trial which takes a critical look at some of the impacts of ecotourism.   It is available in Word format.

Douglas Sanders (University of British Columbia) wrote the research report, International Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as part of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) in 1994.  It is a comprehensive review (at times from a Canadian perspective) of the development of International Law and Agreements that were discussed at the conference.   The paper is available in PDF.

An Economic Strategy to Develop Non-Timber Forest Products and Services in British Columbia was authored by Russel M. Wills and Richard G. Lipsey.  It begins with the statement "To create a stable and confident business climate for the economic development of these non-timber forest resources, we must also settle with first nations peoples and include them centrally in these developments. This involves dealing in an efficient and fair manner with both land claims and traditional knowledge."  You can download the entire report (449 k) in PDF