In 2007, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples became law, extending inherent human rights for the first time to the approximately half a billion Indigenous people around the planet. The declaration sets standards for respecting Indigenous knowledge systems and heritage rights, preserving identity and languages, and decolonizing educational systems. But nation-states have been slow to rethink their laws and policies.

Protecting Indigenous Knowledge and Heritage situates Canadian progress in undertaking these reforms within a global context. Tracing decade-long negotiations with British Columbia and Canada, it demonstrates the fundamental role of Indigenous visions, strategies, and advocacy in developing legislation and action plans to implement inherent rights. Among the topics covered are Eurocentric and Indigenous views on cultural and intellectual property; what Indigenous knowledge is, who may use it, and how to provide it with legal protection; and the role of systems that weave together Indigenous and Eurocentric knowledge.

This fully new edition tackles current issues in intellectual property rights and topics such as the revision of educational curricula to incorporate Indigenous content and methodologies. What emerges is a proposal for cooperative legal reform to protect, reconcile, and invigorate Indigenous knowledge systems and heritage.