From the rapid digitization of genetic resources to evolving international legal frameworks, the stakes for Indigenous self-determination in knowledge governance have never been higher.
A new research initiative led by Professor Chidi Oguamanam is confronting these urgent challenges head-on. Professor Oguamanam has been awarded an Insight Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for a five-year project, entitled “Re-Positioning Indigenous Interests in Intellectual Property, Knowledge Governance and Access to the Benefits of Innovation”. He is joined by co-applicants Professor Jeremy de Beer of the Common Law Section, and former Common Law Section colleague Professor Sarah Morales. A leading Aboriginal legal scholar with interests in Indigenous Legal Traditions, Prof. Morales is now with the University of Victoria, where she serves as Associate Dean as well as the Director of the National Centre for Indigenous Laws.
Other members of this research consortium include the Maritime Aboriginal Peoples Council (Vanessa Mitchell), which has over a decade-and-a-half of community collaboration and partnership with Professor Oguamanam, ABS Canada and the Open African Innovation Research network. The team is also joined by Dr. Kelly Bannister, the Co-Director of the Polis Project on Ecological Governance at the Centre for Global Studies, University of Victoria. Dr. Bannister is a renowned applied research ethicist, specializing in biocultural ethics with focus on ethical and legal issues in research involving biodiversity, Indigenous knowledge and heritage. Meika Ellis, an alumna of the Centre for Law, Technology and Society at the University of Ottawa, is another member of the consortium. She is an award-winning Aboriginal intellectual property lawyer, with a special interest in Indigenous intellectual property rights. She also serves as a member of Intellectual Property Institute of Canada’s (IPIC) Indigenous Committee.
At the core of this project is a major global shift with significant impacts on Indigenous Peoples regarding the growing practice of turning Indigenous genetic resources into digital data shared worldwide. This change is happening alongside important legal developments in Canada, including the implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (UNDA) and the adoption of the 2024 International Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, and Traditional Knowledge.
These developments are fundamentally reshaping knowledge governance in ways that risk deepening the marginalization of Indigenous Peoples. Professor Oguamanam’s project aims to shift that trajectory, empowering Indigenous communities to assert agency and shape the evolving landscape of intellectual property and innovation governance.
The project seeks to generate practical, Indigenous-driven strategies to respond to these disruptive changes. It will begin by mapping how Indigenous laws and knowledge governance systems interact with national and international intellectual property regimes. The team will employ Indigenous Participatory Action Research (IPAR), centering the voices and perspectives of Indigenous Peoples throughout the research process.
Through a major Indigenous-hosted workshop and a series of focus groups spanning the country, the researchers will document how Indigenous communities perceive and experience current knowledge governance systems, and how they envision more equitable alternatives. The ultimate goal is to co-develop frameworks and policy recommendations that enhance Indigenous participation and control in knowledge governance, both in Canada’s domestic IP landscape and on the international stage.
This work builds on over a decade of foundational research through initiatives like ABS Canada, and in partnership with the Maritime Aboriginal Peoples Council, aligning with the growing momentum in Canada towards reconciliation and the recognition of Indigenous legal orders. The project ultimately seeks to create a collaborative platform that respects Indigenous knowledge systems while shaping national and global policies on intellectual property and innovation.
Professor Oguamanam is also the co-director, alongside Professor de Beer, of a recently begun SSHRC Partnership Grant project entitled The “Canada-Africa Partnership on Intellectual Property (“CAP on IP”) for Climate Action,” which brings together an international coalition of academic experts, policymakers, and community leaders to address the complex relationship between IP systems, cleantech innovation, and climate justice. Their leadership builds on more than a decade of groundbreaking work through the globally renowned Open African Innovation Research (Open AIR) network, which they also co-direct.
Congratulations to Professor Oguamanam and all members of the team on this important and significant achievement!