The last crusade: Māori cultural and intellectual property rights

My paper focused on how Maori cultural and intellectual property issues impact on the LIM profession in New Zealand, particularly in regard to ownership, access, repatriation of cultural artefacts, as well as the digitisation & dissemination of Maori knowledge through electronic media. This was based on research I conducted reviewing collection and preservation policies of major repositories of Māori information in NZ. The conference was invitation only & convened by the American Library Association & included legal and library & information management (LIM) experts from several countries (USA, Canada, UK, Australia and Switzerland). The conference was focused on helping the American Library Association to develop a statement on the care and protection of culturally sensitive indigenous artefacts in American LIM institutions. The paper was delivered as part of an international indigenous panel with the other two panellists being Professors’ Loriene Roy (Anishinabe) & Martin Nakata (Torres Strait Islander).