Taxonomy

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Type

Description

Traditional Knowledge Labels

Tools for communities to identify and clarify community-specific rules and responsibilities regarding access and future use of traditional knowledge and cultural heritage.

Biocultural Labels

Tools for communities to define community expectations about appropriate use of information, biological collections, data, and digital sequence information that derives from their lands, waters, and territories.

Engagement and Disclosure Notices

Tools for institutions and researchers to identify Indigenous collections and data and recognize Indigenous rights and interests.

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Purpose

Description

Attribution

This Label should be used when you would like anyone who uses this material to know who the correct sources, custodians, or owners are.

Clan

This Label should be used when you would like external users to know that this material is subject to conditions for circulation relating to clan membership and/or is according to protocols for clan relationships.

Family

This Label should be used when you would like external users to know that this material is subject to certain conditions for circulation.

Multiple Communities

This Label should be used to indicate that multiple communities have responsibilities of custodianship and/or ownership over specific material.

Community Voice

This Label should be used when you would like to encourage community members to share their knowledge, stories and experiences. 

Creative

This Label should be used when an individual artist or author would like to clearly connect creative practices with traditional knowledge deriving from their own community.

Provenance

Indigenous peoples have the right to make decisions about the future use of information, biological collections, data, and digital sequence information (DSI) that derives from associated lands, waters and territories. 

Multiple Communities

This Label should be used to indicate that multiple communities have responsibility, custodianship and/or ownership over the geographic regions where this species or biological entity originates/is found. 

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Purpose

Description

Verified

This Label should be used when you and your community are satisfied with the way in which your traditional knowledge materials are being represented online or offline.

Non-Verified

This material has not been verified by the community. Reasons for this could include that it has not been appropriately vetted, has mistakes, omissions, derogatory language, lack of informed consent, or its process of creation was through dishonest research which did not follow proper community protocols.

Seasonal

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material that is openly circulating has seasonal conditions of access and use.

Women General

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material circulating should only be shared between women in the community.

Men General

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material circulating should only be shared between men in the community.

Men Restricted

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material circulating freely is actually of a highly restricted nature.

Women Restricted

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material circulating freely is actually of a highly restricted nature.

Culturally Sensitive

This Label should be used when you would like external users to know that this material has special sensitivities around it and should be treated with great care.

Secret / Sacred

This Label should be used when you want to let external users know that the material that is openly circulating contains secret/sacred information and that it has specific conditions of access and use.

Consent Verified

Indigenous peoples have the right to permission the use of information, biological collections, data, and digital sequence information (DSI) that derives from associated lands, waters and territories.

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Purpose

Description

Open to Commercialization

Communities have the right to benefit commercially from the information that is derived from their traditional knowledge.

Non-Commercial

This Label should be used when you would like to let external users who have access to your material know that it should only be used in non-commercial ways.

Community Use Only

This Label should be used when you would like external users to know that this material is subject to certain conditions of circulation, namely that this material is usually not circulated beyond the family, clan or community.

Outreach

This Label should be used when you would only like your cultural materials used for educational outreach activities.

Open to Collaboration

This Label is being used to indicate that the community is open to research collaborations.

Research Use

This Label should be used to permit the use of information, collections, data, and digital sequence information (DSI) for unspecified research. This Label does not give permission for commercialization activities.

Open to Collaboration

This Label is being used to indicate that the community is open to research collaborations and outreach activities.

Open to Commercialization

Indigenous peoples have the right to benefit from information, biological collections, data, and digital sequence information (DSI) that derives from traditional lands, waters and territories.

Outreach

This Label should be used when you would only like your biocultural materials and/or data used for educational outreach activities.

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Purpose

Description

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Purpose

Description

Traditional Knowledge

This Notice recognizes that there could be accompanying cultural rights, protocols and responsibilities that need further attention for future sharing and use of this material.

Biocultural

This Notice recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples to define the use of information, collections, data and digital sequence information generated from the biodiversity and genetic resources associated with their traditional lands, waters, and territories.

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Purpose

Description

Collections Care

This Notice can be used to indicate that some or all of the Collections Care Notices are being used.

Authorization

This Notice recognizes that specific Tribal or community authorization through consultation is necessary prior to use of specific items or collections in all forms of publication and exhibits.

Belonging

This Notice recognizes the exclusive right of Indigenous communities, Tribes, Clans, or societies to access and handle items or collections.

Caring

This Notice recognizes cultural ways of caring for materials including specific ways of handling, storing, or managing specific items or collections.

Gender Aware

This Notice recognizes that gender influences access, handling, viewing, and interacting with items or collections.

Leave Undisturbed

This Notice recognizes the cultural significance and necessity of not disturbing certain cultural materials.

Safety

This Notice calls attention to the need for respectful safety precautions to avoid handling items in collections when one is menstruating and/or pregnant for the well-being and health of the individual and their family.

Viewing

This Notice recognizes that there are limits to viewing or accessing current or deaccessioned items in a collection(s) or their representations.

Community

Community accounts can customize TK and BC Labels to display local and traditional protocols. The Labels are used as digital signifiers to explain how Indigenous history and culture is accessed and used going forward. These Labels can be attached by community accounts to Local Contexts Projects.

Institution

Institution accounts can apply Notices to Local Contexts Projects. Local Contexts Projects document information about a particular item, collection, sample, etc. Applying Notices allows institutions to engage, acknowledge, and make visible Indigenous interests in collections, information, and data.