Digitisation of Indigenous Cultural Objects: An Investigation into the Policy and Protocols for Digitised Indigenous Knowledge in selected Cultural Heritage Organisations in Australia and New Zealand.

Abstract

This research project investigates the digital collections from selected heritage organisations, exploring how/if the rights of indigenous peoples are being protected by policy and protocol documents on the World Wide Web. It purposively surveys selected heritage collections across Australia and New Zealand and explores digital collection policies at local and national level, investigating the extent of international pressure, socio-cultural influences, and legislative constraints. This research project uses qualitative methodology in an interpretive way, using the hermeneutic circle and method for the collation for data and analysis. The major theoretical finding of this research project is that many cultural heritage organisations attempt to bridge the gap between Anglo-American development of legislation and indigenous intellectual property rights by the inclusion of specific policy measures becoming in effect socio-cultural agents for change