Resources

Resources

Re-Positioning Indigenous Interests in Intellectual Property, Knowledge Governance and Access to the Benefits of Innovation

Indigenous Peoples around the world face growing risks of being sidelined in the governance of their own intellectual and cultural heritage as technology transforms how knowledge is produced, shared, and monetized.

In Canada and globally, over the past several decades, issues of equity and inclusion in intellectual property (IP) and knowledge governance are on the front burner. In this regard, there are two momentous transitions and large-scale changes in IP and knowledge governance with significant implications for Indigenous Peoples happening right now, namely:

The reduction of genetic materials in Indigenous ancestral territories into datasets or “Digital Sequence Information” (DSI) and widely shared datasets that bypass established guardrails of Indigenous laws and protocols, including free prior and informed consent, as part of a global regime known as “access and benefit sharing” (ABS);
The implementation in Canada of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA), 2021 Action Plan, which is urgently complicated by a new international treaty, the 2024 Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge.

The SSHRC Insight Grant: Re-Positioning Indigenous Interests in Intellectual Property, Knowledge Governance and Access to the Benefits of Innovation aims to facilitate the Indigenous co-development of a strategy in response to identified transitions and large-scale changes in IP and knowledge governance. It aspires to embolden informed and protagonist Indigenous participation in the anticipated revision of Canada’s legislative, policy, practice, and administration ecosystems of IP pursuant to the UNDA Act and overall implementation of Canada’s IP Strategy and Canada’s response to international trends toward taking Indigenous interests in intellectual property and knowledge governance seriously as a development justice matter.

Desk Study: International State of Knowledge

Navigate through this table to discover the state of knowledge as of 2026 regarding ABS principles around the world, and how they apply to Indigenous communities.

TYPE OF DOCUMENT	DATE	AUTHOR(S), ORGANIZATION	TITLE	COUNTRY	SUMMARY	INDIGENOUS AUTHORS/ORG?
International Treaty	1992	United Nations (UN) Environment Programme	1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)	International (Canada is a Party, bound by the treaty)	The CBD supports sharing benefits with Indigenous Peoples and local communities who hold traditional knowledge, so they are recognized and rewarded for their contributions to nature and society. Third objective of CBD: fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of GRs.	N/A
International Treaty	2001	Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)	2001 International Treaty on Plant Genetics for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)	International (Canada is a Party, bound by the treaty)	The ITPGRFA has ABS requirements and uses a Multilateral System for access and benefit-sharing.	N/A
International Treaty	2007	United Nations (UN)	United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)	International	UNDRIP is a 2007 international instrument setting global minimum standards for the survival, dignity, and well-being of Indigenous peoples. It covers rights to self-determination, culture, education, health, and land.	N/A
International Agreement	2023	United Nations (UN)	2023 Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction	International	Agreement addresses issue of marine genetic resources, including the fair and equitable sharing of benefits.	N/A
International Agreement	2025	World Health Organization (WHO)	2025 WHO Pandemic Agreement	International	Agreement boosts global collaboration to ensure stronger, more equitable response to future pandemics. Next steps include negotiations on Pathogen Access and Benefits Sharing system. (From news release)	N/A
Intergovernmental Committee	Est. 2000 (ongoing)	WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)	WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (IGC)	International	Sessions of the IGC begin with presentations by representatives from Indigenous and local communities. These presentations are a rich source of information on the experiences, concerns and aspirations of Indigenous and local communities concerning the protection, promotion and preservation of TK, traditional cultural expressions and GRs. (From "Presentations" webpage)	General commitee: N/A, Presentations: Yes
International Treaty	2024	WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)	WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge (GRATK Treaty)	International (Canada has not yet made any decision re: signing or acceding to the Treaty as of Nov 2025)	Key outcome - mandatory disclosure requirement if a claimed invention is "based on" genetic resources and/or associated traditional knowledge. This information includes the country of origin or source of the genetic resource and/or the Indigenous peoples or local community providing the associated traditional knowledge.	N/A
Article	2025	Neva Collings, Fiona Martin, Natalie Stoianoff	Fair Access or Mirage? A Biodiscovery Case Study at Uluru for Indigenous Benefit-Sharing	Australia	International minimum standards for sharing and protecting Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge have been adopted under United Nations conventions which promote fair and equitable benefit-sharing with Indigenous peoples. However, biodiscovery continues in Australia using Indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge without adequately recognising their rights and interests despite Australia having signed the Nagoya Protocol.
Article	2026	Jessica Lai	Patent law, traditional knowledge, and disclosure practices in Aotearoa New Zealand	New Zealand	On 24 May 2024, member states of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) adopted the Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. In this article, we analyze whether the treaty is so remarkable in relation to Aotearoa New Zealand’s existing law and practice. Finding that it is not, and that the treaty could place limits on the law, we argue that Aotearoa New Zealand should not sign the Treaty but could learn from it.	-
Article	2022	Angela Riley	The Ascension of Indigenous Cultural Property Law	United States	This Article reports those findings, situating the results in a human rights framework and leading to a core, central thesis: the data reveal a striking increase in the development of tribal cultural property laws, as Indian tribes seek to advance human and cultural rights in innovative and inspired ways.	Angela Riley is a Potawatomi jurist
Article	2021	Trevor Reed	“Creative Sovereignties: Should Copyright Apply on Tribal Lands?	United States	What is crucial is that where Tribal intellectual property laws, protocols, or customary laws occupy the same field as the Copyright Act, Tribal entitlements and remedies, not federal ones, should govern creativity occurring on Tribal lands, with federal copyright law providing enforcement of Tribal intellectual property rights beyond a Tribe's borders.	Trevor Reed is from the Hopi Nation
Article	2024	James Anaya	The Significance of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples	United States	The UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples is contributing to an international legal order that is more broadly attentive to the interplay of racial and religious discrimination ... Although a number of scholars and non-Indigenous activists had some part in those discussions, it was Indigenous representatives that most influenced the drafting of the Declaration with their accounts of racial othering and related legacies of historical oppression.	James Anaya is of Apache and Purépecha ancestry
Article (WIPO, The ABS Capacity Development Initiative)	2018	Maria Julia Oliva, Olivier Rukundo	"A Guide to Intellectual Property Issues in Access and Benefit-sharing Agreements"	International	Part 2: "IP rights in the context of mutually agreed terms on ABS." Includes checklist for deciding whether or not to acquire IP rights and checklist for negotiating and obtaining IP rights (p. 25-26). Part 3: "Exploiting and managing IP rights," section "Provisions for amicable settlement of disputes relating to IP rights in ABS agreements" (p. 55)	-
Article (UCLA Law Review)	2025	Rebecca Tsosie, Michael Kotutwa Johnson (Tsosie: Regents Professor at the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona; Johnson: Assistant Specialist-Indigenous Resiliency Center, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona)	"The Seed is the Law": Creating New Governance Frameworks for Indigenous Heirloom Seeds and Traditional Knowledge	United States	Part I: Indigenous heirloom seeds and Indigenous self-determination. Part II: Indigenous Peoples and the WIPO GRATK treaty. Part III: Indigenous heirloom seeds and domestic governance of cultural heritage. Article argues that US domestic law requires integrated framework of governance and protection of cultural heritage re Article 31 of UN Declaration.	Rebecca Tsosie is of Yaquidescent. Michael Kotutwa Johnson is a member of the Hopi Tribe in Northern Arizona.
Article (5280)	2021	Kelly Bastone	"Why are Colorado Beans so Delicious?"	United States	Non-Indigenous farmers in Colorado currently grow and own the trademark for the Anasazi bean, an Indigenous heirloom seed of the Puebloan People. In 1973, a non-Indigenous child found the seeds in a burial site of the Ancestral Puebloans, and Colorado farmers have been farming it commercially since.	-
Article (American Anthropologist, New Series)	2009	Stephen B. Brush (Professor Emeritus at UC Davis)	"Indigenous Knowledge of Biological Resources and Intellectual Property Rights: The Role of Anthropology"	United States	Abstract: "Fourth, intellectual property rights have been expanded in advanced industrial countries to include biological materials and life forms, such as new plant varieties. Finally, there has been increased pressure for all nation-states to implement intellectual property protection and to conform to a common international standard"	-
Article	2024	Eliezer Sánchez-Lasaballett, Ybiskay González	"Traditional Knowledge and Intellectual Property Rights in Latin America: Towards a Decolonial Approach"	Examines Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia. Published in Australia	This article examines the ideological underpinnings of Latin American constitutional reforms on Traditional Knowledge (TK) protection, analysing constitutions from Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. It shows that although some legal norms have changed, Indigenous worldviews remain influenced by colonial logics, and mere recognition of TK rights is insufficient.
Article	2019	Rodrigo Cámara-Leret, Miguel A. Fortuna, Jordi Bascompte (Edited by Rodolfo Dirzo, Department of Biology, Stanford University)	"Indigenous knowledge networks in the face of global change"	Fieldwork in South America (including Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia). Published in United States	Indigenous communities rely on plants for food, shelter, and medicine, yet the impacts of losing species or knowledge remain unclear. To fill this gap, here we introduce Indigenous knowledge networks describing the wisdom of indigenous people on plant species and the services they provide.
Fellowship Project	Ongoing (as of Jan 2026)	Paul Gordon (Professor, CI, Senior Knowledge Holder)	"Restoring traditional Murra ancestral tracks in New South Wales through kinship with Indigenous knowledge holders and archival research"	Australia	This project seeks to revitalise Indigenous knowledge systems in New South Wales by reconnecting with Murra ancestral tracks—key conduits of cultural knowledge encompassing stories, ceremonies, geography, and environmental understanding.	Paul Gordon is a Ngemba man, born at Brewarrina, he grew up on the Barwon River in north western New South Wales, Australia.
Presentation	2022	Diane Kerr (OAM, Professor, Elder)	"Treating infections though First Nations healing and medicine"	Australia	This presentation will discuss how to improve healthcare and health outcomes for Indigenous peoples. It will also outline the need for Indigenous voices in government decision-making and the need for First Nations people to have a voice in their own treatment.	Diane Kerr OAM is a respected Elder of the Wurundjeripeople and identifies with the Ganun Willam Balak clan.
Presentation	2022	Warwick Padgham, Eddie Cubillo, and Jaynaya Dwyer	"Employing Indigenous Knowledges to Understand the Intersection Between Health and Justice"	Australia	This panel examines how Indigenous knowledge can transform health and justice systems by challenging deficit-based models and promoting innovative, strengths-based, and future-oriented practices. It explores how these approaches can improve outcomes for Indigenous peoples while delivering broader benefits for the Australian community.	Warwick Padgham is a Taungurungman. Dr Eddie Cubillo is of Larrakia/Wadjigan and Central Arrente descent. Jaynaya Dwyer is a non-Indigenous woman.
Presentation	2022	Patrick Nunn (Professor), Roselyn Kumar, and Taniela Bolea	"Traditional Knowledge in Fiji for Anticipating, Averting and Accommodating Environmental Risk"	Fiji	People have lived on western Pacific islands for over three thousand years, developing site-specific ways to anticipate environmental risks such as storms, earthquakes, and eruptions. These systems supported practices to avert danger and to adapt through settlement choices, food-surplus production, preservation, structures, and ritual behaviors.	Kumar and Bolea were born in Fiji.
Book	2009	Jane E. Anderson	Law, Knowledge, Culture: The Production of Indigenous Knowledge in Intellectual Property Law		This book investigates how Indigenous and traditional knowledge has been produced and positioned within intellectual property law and the effects of this position in both national and international jurisdictions.	-
Organization Website	Founded 1980	First Nations Development Institute	-	United States	First Nations Development Institute helps restore control & cultural stewardship of Native assets to Native Americans in the U.S.	Yes
Organization Website	Founded 1977	ICC (Inuit Circumpolar Council) International	-	United States (Alaska), Canada, Greenland, Russia (Chukotka)	ICC is a non-government organization representing 180,000 Inuit of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Chukotka.	Yes
Organization Website	Founded 1970	Native American Rights Fund	-	United States	Native-led nonprofit that holds governments accountable & protects Native rights, resources, and lifeways through litigation, legal advocacy, & expertise.	Yes

Desk Study: Domestic State of Knowledge (Canada)

Navigate through this table to discover how ABS principles are or are not being applied in Canada as of 2026.

TYPE OF DOCUMENT	DATE	AUTHOR(S), ORGANIZATION	TITLE	SUMMARY	NOTES (RELEVANCY/LIMITATIONS)
Annual Report	2024-2025	First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC)	Coming Together: Annual Report 2024-2025	Provides background and activities of CEO, board, organization etc. Progress on FN Data Governance Strategy, collaboration w/ federal government departments, focus on fed govt' uses, collects, stewards, & shares Indigenous data. working with ISC on policy development regarding external data sharing. Conducted feasibility study on biobanking, genomic research including dialogues w/ leadership, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, community members.	Some focus on biobanking, genomic research, health data, but also AFN on-reserve housing, infrastructure, conducts national and regional surveys.
Discussion Paper	2024	FNIGC	A First Nations Guide to the Privacy Act	Explores how an Indigenous IP regime could support FN data soverignty grounded in OCAP principles, examines limitations on Western IP frameworks, proposes pathways toward Indigenous-governed legal and policy mechanisms to protect FN data, knowledge & information assets. Need for sui generis legal mechanisms to recognize Indigenous jurisdiction.	Not exclusively about genetic resources or DSI, but establishes framework for Indigenous control over digital representations of knowledge. provides Indigenous-led governance logic that coudl inform DSI regulation.
Conference Report	2019	Oluwatobiloba (Tobi) Moody, Centre for International Governance Innovation	Protecting First Nation Knowledge and Cultural Expressions	Summarizes 2019 CIGI-ISED-AFN workship examinig relationship between Canadian IP law, TK, and Traditional Cultural Expression within context of UNDRIP implementation. Shows how KG is expanding beyond classical IP into genetic resources, DS, global treaty regimes, demonstrates tension between Western IP logic and IGS. explicit concerns w/ DS bypassing physical access, s.35 rights positioned as potnetially superior to federal IP legislation	Pre-UNDA Action Plan stage, contextual, need to look for updated reports/similar conferences.
Report	2023	FNIGC	PIPESA and First Nations: Application and Reform	Examines how PIPEDA applies to FN governments, businesses and organizations. assesses jurisdictional complexity (commercial activities, provincial regimes) critiques PIPEDA and proposed reforms (CPPA under Bill C-27) from presepctive of FN data soverignty and UNDRIP. Canadian privacy law is individualistic, whereas FN is collective and jurisdicition based (OCAP) FN data law should be grounded in inherent rights & s.35.	Not directly about genetic resources, focuses on privacy law but address digitial representation of IK, govvernant of de-identified data, risks of digitla circulation without Indigenous control. Provides goverance logic that could be extended to DSI debates. Indigenous authored critique.
Organization/Progress Report	2025	BC First Nations Regional Information Governance Centre	BC FN Regional IGC: Progress Report, April 2025	Regional FN data and statistical centre in BC, implementing the national FN Data Governance Strategy, operationalizatoin of OCAP pricniples in infrastructure, software, governance tools, funding.	Less about genetic resources, but provides examples of how knowledge goverance are expanding into digital infrastucture, data governance, capacity development, software and tech soverignty. develops conceptual governance model that could apply to digital genetic sequence control.
Organization	2023	Genome Canada/Mae Whyte/Blueberry River First Nations	Indigenous Guardians programs	Examples of Indigenous governace of biodiversity and natural resources. provides Data Collectino & Management Software & Apps - gathering, documenting, organizing knkowledge for conservation projects	Example of existing Indigenous-led knowledge gathering and dissemination.
Organization	2025	AFN/Genome Canada	AFN Resolution on genomic data soverignty	FN adoption of Resolution #11 at AFN annual Generaly Assembly, Sept. 3-5, 2025. raised concerns abotu genomic data governance related to Canadian Precision Health Initiative. overiw of resolution's aim to safeguard FN data soverignty, steer genomic research, data initaitives	Useful to know and follow AFN resolutions relating to genetic resources & research, where these conversations are happening to find further research areas and sources.
First Nation	2023	Blueberry River First Nations	Blueberry River First Nations - Preliminary DNA Data: Peace Watershed	community-based biomonitoring initiatives assessing freshwater health in Peace Watershed, designed to build local capacity within Blueberry River First Nations to inform development of a long-term water quality monitoring programs.	Example of what kind of research and reporting is done by a FN (uploaded to their governance website) demonstrates expansion of KG into environmental DNA, genomic monitoring, national biodiveresity databases. How genetic resource data from an Indigenous territory enters digital systems. Why genetic resource governance must address digital sequencing. (more for my knowledge)
Organization Website	2023	Indigenous Climate Monitoring Toolkit	Guidance Document for Community Knowledge Protocols (CKP) and Data Sharing Agreements (DSA)	Provides guidance for Indigenous communities to develop Community Knowledge Protocol and Data Sharing Agreements, designed to support Indigenous control over ecological, climate and environmental knowledge collected through research and monitoring initiatives. emphasizing FPIC before knowledge collection or sharing. advocates for written agreements outlining ownership of data, access rights, storage and security, secondary use limitations, benefit-sharing arrangements.	Demonstrates how knowledge governance is expanding into climate data, ecological monitoring, research ethics. not sepcific to genetic resoruces, but establishes governance principles in bio-data, provides a model for regulating access to data derived from land-based knowledge for Indigenous communites, could infer logic to DSI, genomic data etc. operationalizes self-determination. not engaged with Canadian law directly. demosntrates applied mechanisms (agreements, protocols etc. - can apply to more research)
Organization Website	Ongoing	Local Contexts	Local Contexts: Labels and Notices for Cultural Heritage and Genetic Resources	Local Contexts is a global initiative that supports Indigenous communities with tools that can reassert cultural authority in heritage collections and data. Local Contexts Labels and Notices were created to ground intellectual and cultural property rights in cultural heritage, data, and genetic resources within digital environments	A labeling system that focuses on adding info about access, use, and circulation that are consistent with community rules, governance, and protocols - not specific to ABS, genetic resourcing, DSI etc.
Organization Annual Report	2023-2024	AFN	Assembly of First Nations Annual Report 2023-2024 Strengthening Our Relations	Documents AFN's advocacy across all priority areas including data soveriegnty, IP and TK in 2023-2024. Covers AFN engagement with the 2024 WIPO Diplomatic Conference (National chief), work with Bill C-27 Digital Charter Act, and ongoing collaboration with FNIGC on data governance	Provides overview of AFN's highest-level political engagement on IP and data sovereignty in 2023-2024. Compelements AFN brief on Bill C-27 and AFN resolution on genomic data soveriegnty. Documents political-level Indigenous engagement with international IP processes.
Parliamentary Brief / Submission	2023	AFN	Bill C-27 (Digital Charter Implemenation Act, 2022) AFN Brief on First Nations Rights	AFN submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Industry and Technology regarding Bill C-27 (proposed Consumer Privacy Protection Act and Artificial Intelligence and Data Act). Ariculates FN's rights-based concerns about digital governance, data soveriegnty, and failure of proposed privacy reforms to accomodate Indigneous collective erights. OCAP principles and UNDRIP obligations.	Critical Indigenous-led intervention in federal digital governance reform. Cross-reference with FNIGC's PIPESA report (2023). Direct engagement with legislative reform on digital data applicable to DSI governance. Demonstrates gap between federal digital governance and Indigenous rights frameworks.
Organization Strategy Document	2018 (current)	Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami (ITK)	National Inuit Strategy on Research (NISR)	ITK's national strategy for Inuit-governed research, establishing principles of data soveriegnty, community control, and benefit-sharing for all research involving Inuit peoples. Covers Inuit ownership and control over data, ethical research frameworks, governance structures, and priority research areas including health and environmental monirtoring.	Essential inuit-specific counterpart to FNIGC / OCAP framework. governs all reaserch in Unuit Nunangat, including genomics and health research. Read alongside 2022 CIHR Inuit Reserach Network announcement. Proivdes Inuit governance logic for TK, genetic resource, and data governance. Foundational document still in effect
Organization Strategy Document	2023	FNIGC	A First Nations Data Governance Strategy - Executive Summary	Outlines FNIGC's strategy for establishing a network of FN-led Regional information goverance centres across Canada. Articulates data sovereignty grounded in OCAP principles as the framework for all FN data governance. Covers governance structures, capacity development, data infrastructure, and government data relationships	Foundational strategy document underpinning FN data soveriegnty in Canada. Directly relevant to understanding the governance infrastructure that should apply to genetic resources and DSI. Read alongside FNIGC annual report 2024-2025 for implementation progress.
Press Release / Advocacy	2024	AFN	AFN National Chief Attends World Intellectual Property Organization's Diplomatic Conference (May 2024)	Documents AFN National Chief Cindy Woodhouse's attendance at the WIPO Diplomatic Conference on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge in Geneva (May 2024). Expresses AFN's support for greater transparency in patent regimes relating to inventions utilizing Indigenous TK and genetic resources.	Demonstrates highest-level FN political engagement with WIPO processes. Directly relevant to understanding Indigenous political stakes in the 2024 WIPO Treaty. Read alongisde AFN Annual Report 2023-2024 and AFN genomic data sovereignty resolution.
Book	2024	Rebecca Johnson, Val Napoleon, Richard Overstall, Debra McKenzie,	Indigenous Intellectual Property : An Interrupted Intergenerational Conversation	Focuses on cultural, societal and artistic purposes rather than patents and trademarks in reaffirming legal control of IK. Intangible vs Tangible property. Art's important role as law in Gitxsan and Secwepenc law/stories, Hawaiian hula (public domain)	Less about genetic resources, ABS etc. but can be relevant in understanding conceptualizations of Indigenous - Canadian First Nation IP
Journal Article	2020	Reagan Seidler	Constitutionalized Rights to Indigenous Intellectual Property	S.35 rights as a viable pathway to constitutionally recognize and protect ITK and IP. Proposed a conservative doctrinal approach working within existing Sparrow/Van der Peet/Delgamuukw cases. how to actually structure and ltigiate a s.35 TK claim.	Demonstrates how Indigenous IP protection may move from statutory reform into constitutional entrenchment. Shows expansion of knowldege governance toward constitutional protection, and legal pluralism. Indirectly related to ABS, DSI, but article 31 includes genetic resources, so is applicable to arguments.
Journal Article	2020	Karolina Prazmowska	Misappropriation of Indigenous Cultural Heritage - Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Era	Examines how digitzation increases risk of misappropriaton of Indigenous TCE and cultural heritage. limits of Western IP in protecting Indigenous heritage. explores international frameworks. emphasizes FPIC. highlights how digitization can undermine Indigenous control by: removing cultural context, increasing accessibility, facilitating commercial appropriation.	Connects to WIPO negotiations on TCE and genetic resources (23-24), shows how digital technologies destabilizes traditional governance frameworks. Canadian exampls: Cowichan sweater, Inuit Igloo Tag ceritification mark, Snuneymuxw petroglyphs.
Journal Article	2022	Lindsay Paquette	Bill C-15 and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples: A Proposal for Intellectual Property Law Reform in Canada for the Protection, Preservation and Prosperity of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expression	Examines how Bill C-15 (UNDRIP Act) creates opportunity for IP law reform in Canada to better protect TK, and genetic resources. Argues IP reform can serve as vehicle for reconciliation and implementation of Article 31. Surveys compartiave international approaches (Finland, Nigeria, New Zealand) Compares current Canadian IP law and Indigenous TK. Shift toward human rights framing.	Directly references genetic resources, CBD/Nagoya benefit-sharing frameowrks, patent disclosure requirements for genetic resoruce origin, prior informed consent. connects IP law to ABS obligations. theoretical grounding for arguing that DSI governance must align with Article 31. written pre-UNDA implementation, more advocacy-oriented.
Journal Article	2024	Robert Howell & Colton Dennis	The Implementation of Undrip: Legal Dimensions of Indigenous Peoples' Cultural Heritage and Property in Canada	Examines how UNDRIP reshapes legal understandings of Indigenosu cultural heritage, TK, IP and genetic resources. Legal implication. Exploring tension between Western IP and Indigenous collective rights grounded in self-determination. Cultural heritage cannot be reduced to economic IP interests, it is relational, spritiual, territorial... Demonstrates how governance of GR, cultural property is shaped by global normative frameworks.	Some reference but less focused on digital developments compared to other sources, provides info on Indigenous governance framing: emphasizing self-determination, how Indigenous cultural property is inseperable from land, identity, and governance. more theoretical than doctrinal. useful for framing Canada's obligations under UNDA.
Journal Article	2023	Thomas Nichini - CBA	Starting From the Land: The Case for Indigenous-led Approaches to Canada’s ABS Gap	Argues that Canada has a significant ABS governance gap, particularly because it is not party yo Nagoya Protocol, advocates for Indigenous-led governance approaches to fill this gap. frames genetic resources and associated TK as inseperable from indigenous land, stewardship. Tension between IP and TK.	Identifies ABS regulatory gaps, provides legal-policy framing, supporting Indigenous-driven goverance. policy gaps.
Journal Article	2019	Daniel W. Dylan	Implementation & Governance Challenges in Canada Respecting UNDRIP Article 31	Reviews UNDRIP Article 31, general problems reconciling existing IP regimes and IK, reviews Canadian IP regime and raises challenges with Indigenous knowledge, TK what is protectable, what is not.	Less about genetic resources, but relevant in that it provides examples of what kinds of TK or information Indigenous peoples may consider protecting, how TK clashes with existing regime.
Journal Article	2023	Morgan Paul	Looking to the Future: Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Policy in Canada
Journal Article	2024	Eric Corston et al	Exercising rights over data: a journey towards First Nations data sovereignty in Canada
Journal Article	2024	S.E Cannon et al	Taking care of Knowledge, taking care of salmon: towards Indigenous data sovereignty in an era of climate change and cumulative effects
Book	2024	Marie Battiste, James Sa'ke'j Youngblood Henderson	Protecting Indigenous Knowlege and Heritage A Canadian Obligation, new edition	Argues that Canada has legal and policy obligations to protect Indigenous Knowledge systems and heritage, especially in light of UNDRIP, suggesting how legal protection may be structured.	Broad area, could be useful for background, theory and policy reform proposals/analysis for IP and TK in general. may need to be supplemented with more sources on ABS, genetic resources, etc.
Book Chapter	2024	Graham Dutfield, Uma Suthersanen	Traditional knowledge as intellectual property subject matter: perspectives from history, anthropology, and diverse economies In Handbook of Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights	Authors argue that treating TK as an IP problem may be too narrow, culturally mismatched, and potentially harmful if it imposes Eurocentric legal categories. Chapter situations WIPO development, including 2024 treaty on patents, TK etc. within a longer history of colonial legal imposition, anthropological misunderstandings, and globalization of Western IP norms. Authors suggest more plural, culturally grounded, and flexible approached are needed, especially those that take seriously Indigenous lifeworlds, customary law, and diverse economies rather than assuming standard IP frameworks can adequately protect IK.	Useful for Indigenous knowledge governance, pushing an argument for beyond protection language into questions of legal imposition, indigenous law, stewardship and local control. But, broader, more theoretical, and comparative. Not Canada-specific enough.
Government	2025	Office of the Chief Science Advisor of Canada	Towards Indigenous-relevant Indicators for the Implementation of Biodiversity Conservation Plans	Examines how biodiversity conservation plans can incorporate Indigenous-relevant indicators that reflect Indigenous values, knowledge systems and governance priorities. Based on roundtable of experts from academia, Indigenous communities, public institutions. argues that conventional conservation indicators often fail to capture Indigenous priorities such as rights-based perspectives, cultural identity, etc. Recommending co-developed, distinction-based, Indigenous-led monitoring and assessment frameworks...	Not directly on Indigenous IP, relevant as a Canadian governance and policy background source. identifying Indigenous values, and design principles (relationality, stewardship, rights-based approaches, co-development)
Government Website	2022	Environment and Climate Change Canada	Nagoya Protocol on access to genetic resources and beenfit sharing	Overview on the agreement, status of Canada (not ratified), recognizes no single comprehensive ABS system, but some laws and regulations cover some elements, department as interdepartmental committee on ABS, engaging with Indigenous communities	General overview, could be useful to keep an eye on in case changes are made, progress, or more details about Indigenous communities
Government Website	2023-Ongoing	Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED)	Indigenous Peoples and Intellectual Property	ISED hub for IP strategy on Indigenous knowledge. Outlines the IP strategy initiatives and UNDA implemenation. Including the Indigenous Intellectual Property grant.	A key government entry point for IP/IKG reform. Regularly updated. Would be interesting to see what are the outcomes of previous grants.
Government Web Resource	2023	ISED / Canadian Intellectual Property Office	Introduction to Intellectual Property Rights and the Protection of Indigenous Knowledge and Cultural Expressions in Canada	Accessible government overview discussing limitations of existing IP tools in protecting IK & TCE. Reviews international frameworks including WIPO, CBD, Nagoya, and UNDRIP. Discusses UNDA Article 31 Obligations and basis for IP law reform.	Useful for documenting the official government framing of the IP/IK gap and the rationale for reform. Accessibble entry-level document. Cross-reference with academic critiques of Western IP's inadequacy for IK protection
Government Program Guide	2023-2024	ISED	Indigenous Intellectual Property Program Grant — Program Guide	Describes the IIPP grant program.: $150,000/year in grants to Indigenous organizations for IP-related initiatives, WIPO session travels and projects on IK and ICE. Aims to make IP system more inclsuive of FN, Métis and Inuit. Connections to government's IP strategy and UNDA reconciliation commitments.	Operational government program directly funding Indigenous IP capacity-building. Useful for demonstrating government's practical steps toward implementing UNDRIP Article 31. Cross reference with 2023-24 CIPO Annual report for funded recipiients
Governmental Annual Report	2024	Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO)	2023–2024 Annual Report: Canadian Intellectual Property Office	Documents CIPO's activities in 2023-2024 including roundtables organized by Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business (CCAB), IP education with Indigenous communities - collaboration with the Ulnooweg Education Centre to develop an IP course for Indigenous students, and support for ISED's IIPP. Details CIPO's interntional engagements at the WIPO IGC on TK, TCE, and genetic resources negotiations.	Official government record of IP activities related to IK. Documents operational UNDA reconciliation work. Cross-reference with WIPO negotiations and IIPP grant recipients from May 2024.
Government Website	2022-ongoing	CIPO / ISED	Patents based on Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge	Explains how patents can be based on genetic resources and associated TK under Canadian patent law. Discusses disclosure requirements under the 2024 WIPO treaty, Canada's position on disclosure obligations, and implications for patent applicants including due diligence and compliance	Relevant to ABS gap analysis and patent disclosure requirements. Documents Canada's existing patent framework for genetic resources and the gap regarding mandatory TK disclosure, central to DSI governance. useful for tracking whether Canada ratifies 2024 WIPO treaty.
Government Action Plan	2023	Government of Canada (Crown-Indigenous Relations; Justice Canada; co-developed with Indigenous partners)	United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) Action Plan 2023-2028	181-measure action plan. Chapter 2 includes Measue 101 directing government to work with FN, Metis and Inuit to ensure IP frameworks are consistent with UNDRIP Article 31. Covers self-determination, reconciliation, land rights, data and cultural heritage across all people-specific priorities	primary federal policy document for UNDRIP implementaion. relevant to IP reform trajectory, ABS obligations, and data soveriegnty. Reoccuring 5 year plan.
Government Policy	2019 - Ongoing	Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada	Policy on Scientific and Indigenous Knowledge Integrity	Policy framework that recognizes and integrates IK alongisde scientific knowledge in Crown decision-making. Estbalished how IK should be treated with equal respect and integrity in regulatory and policy contexts. Sets outs principles for IK collection, use, protection and return to communities	government-side policy for IK management in regulatory and research contexts. Pre-UNDA but aligns with and can inform UNDA implemenation. Useful for assessing consistency of federal departments' practices with emerging UNDRIP obligations.
Parliamentary Committee Report	2024	House of Commons Standing Committee on Science and Research (Chair: Valerie Bradford MP)	Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge and Science in Canadian Research and Policy Development (Report No. 11, 44th Parliament, 1st Session)	Report from seven public meetings (Nov 2023-Feb 2024) with 47 witnesses including Indigenous governments and organizations. Evaluates models for integrating IK and science (two-eyed seeing, parallel parths, ethical space, braiding) 15 recommendations to government including formal engagement mechanisms, granting council reform and FPIC requirements in funding criteria	Key parliamentary record showing how IK governance is entering federal research policy. Useful for demonstrating legislative momentum on IK in reserach. Cross-reference with UNDA Action Plan Measure 101. More government reponses could come from this.
Government Website	2022 - Ongoing	Environment and Climate Change Canada	Genetic Resources: Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS)	Comprehensive government overview of Canada's ABS framework: Nagoya Protocol status (not ratified), existing ABS-related mechanisms (SARA, FN land rights, Crown agreements), and the interdepartmental ABS committee. Notes that for GR on Indigenous lands or associated with IK, the relevant Indigenous government should be contacts	More detailed and current than the Nagoya Protocol page. Documents Canada's ABS governance gap explictely. States Indigenous peoples have rights to GR on their lands. Directly relevant to ABS gap analysis.