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BC Labels

The BC Labels are an initiative for Indigenous communities and local organizations. Developed through sustained partnership and testing within Indigenous communities across multiple countries, the Labels allow communities to express local and specific conditions for sharing and engaging in future research and relationships in ways that are consistent with already existing community rules, governance and protocols for using, sharing and circulating knowledge and data. Communities customize their BC Labels. To do this communities will need to use the Local Contexts Hub which allows community control over customization and delivery to institutions, data repositories and other organizations.

The BC Labels define community expectations about appropriate use of biocultural collections and data. The BC Labels focus on accurate provenance, transparency and integrity in research engagements with Indigenous communities. The BC Labels ensure Indigenous people are represented in the metadata and create opportunities for future researchers to connect and support appropriate benefit sharing. 

The BC Label text is intended to be customized by each community – giving the Labels specificity and context. The title of each BC Label can be translated into one or more languages and displayed in addition to the default Label title. The BC Label icons are not to be altered.  This is to ensure national and international recognition and integrity across content and collection management systems, online repositories, websites, and physical exhibits.

For more information on implementing and displaying the TK Labels, please contact the Local Contexts team.

Français / French

Les étiquettes BC portent sur la façon appropriée de gérer la provenance, la transparence et l’intégrité des données au moment de s’engager dans un projet de recherche. Les étiquettes BC sont des balises numériques qui définissent les attentes des communautés et leur processus de consentement relativement à la façon appropriée de faire usage des collections et des données. Elles relient les données aux gens et à l’environnement dans le temps. Les étiquettes BC proposent une application pratique des principes de gestion des données par les Autochtones, relativement aux questions d’accès et de partage des bénéfices en lien avec les ressources génétiques.

Māori

Ngā Tohu Ahurea Koiora

Click on a BC Label below to learn more about its usage.

Haz click en las Etiquetas de BC a continuación para aprender más acerca de su uso.

Provenance Labels

Provenance Labels identify the group or sub-group which is the primary cultural authority for the material, and/or recognizes other interest in the materials.

BC Provenance

(BC P)

BC Multiple Communities

(BC MC)

BC Clan

(BC CL)

Protocol Labels

Protocol Labels outline traditional protocols associated with access to this material and invite viewers to respect community protocols.

BC Consent Verified

(BC CV)

BC Consent Non-Verified

(BC CNV)

Permission Labels

Permission Labels indicate what activities the community has approved as generally acceptable. Other uses require direct engagement with primary cultural authorities.

BC Research Use

(BC R)

BC Open to Collaboration

(BC CB)

BC Open to Commercialization

(BC OC)

BC Outreach

(BC O)

BC Non-Commercial

(BC NC)

Questions?

HOW CAN THE LOCAL CONTEXTS TOOLS BENEFIT OUR COMMUNITY?

All the Local Contexts tools work together to support the proper recognition of Indigenous rights and interests in traditional knowledge and biocultural data. Each Local Contexts tool requires collaboration between communities and institutions and/or communities and researchers.  The BC Labels communicate ongoing Indigenous relationships, obligations and responsibilities to information and data as well as expectations for its future circulation. Their implementation encourages researchers and institutions to adopt new practices.

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO DEVELOP BC LABELS?

The community customization of the BC Labels is a collaborative process. How long it takes will depend on the scope of the project and how many BC Labels you’d like to develop. The Local Contexts Hub facilitates the process and allows for community vetting and authorizations.

CAN THE BC AND TK LABELS BE USED TOGETHER?

Yes. The BC and TK Labels were designed to be used separately and/or together. 

ARE THERE ADDITIONAL RESOURCES I CAN USE?

Yes. Additional resources on Copyright,  Intellectual Property Law, Agreements, Protocols and MOUs can be found at ENRICH. Here you will also find training modules on Collaborative Curation, Cultural Awareness, Indigenous Intellectual and Cultural Property, Indigenous Data Sovereignty, CARE Principles, TK & BC Labels and Notices and Agreement Making.