The dominant Western culture has created a legal system premised upon an individualistic
and commercial foundation for intellectual property rights (IPR). This system necessarily
excludes the protection of traditional knowledge and other components of Indigenous
cultures, as well as concepts of communal responsibility for the keeping and transfer of
such ideas and knowledge. These concepts are foundational to Indigenous knowledge
systems in Alaska, as well as throughout the world. Today, a focus on this issue is critical to
the preservation of indigenous cultures and their ways of knowing. We examine where
national and international intellectual property rights systems are in addressing
Indigenous cultural and intellectual property rights (Indigenous CIPR). We also examine
opportunities for expansion of such rights in Alaska and around the world.Ye
