JaneAnderson

Jane Anderson

Associate Professor

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Jane Anderson is Associate Professor of Anthropology and Museum Studies and a Global Fellow in the Engelberg Center for Innovation Law and Policy in the Law School at New York University.  Jane has a Ph.D. in Law from the Law School at University of New South Wales in Australia. Their work is focused on the philosophical and practical problems for intellectual property law and the protection of Indigenous/traditional knowledge resources and cultural heritage in support of Indigenous knowledge and data sovereignty.

In 2023 Jane was awarded $2.5 million from the Mellon Foundation to support the sustainability and future of Local Contexts.  Local Contexts is a non-profit organization founded in 2010 to support Indigenous communities to manage their intellectual and cultural property, cultural heritage, environmental data, and genetic resources within digital environments through the TK (Traditional Knowledge) & BC (Biocultural) Labels and Notices. Local Contexts provides legal, extra-legal, and educational strategies for navigating copyright law and creating new options for Indigenous control over vital cultural heritage. See this video on Local Contexts

In 2023 Jane released the new film: Awasəwehlαwə́lətinα wikəwαmok – They Returned Home (2023). This film is a collaboration with the Penobscot Nation and was filmed by cinematographer Andreas Burgess. The film has been selected to play in the 2023 NatiVisions Film Festival in Arizona. 

Jane was recently awarded the prestigious international Guardians of Culture and Lifeways Award from the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries and Museums (ATALM) for their contribution. 

 

Education

PhD (Law), 2004, University of New South Wales, Sydney; BA Honors (First Class), 1998, University of Sydney, Sydney; BA (Cultural Studies and Philosophy), 1997, University of Sydney, Sydney

Areas of Research/Interest

Property law (spec. intellectual property) and the cultural life of law; coloniality and colonial governance; critical Indigenous studies; Indigenous rights and sovereignty; museum studies; repatriation and digital return; cultural property; data ethics, heritage studies; international organizations; institutional policy; cultural protocols; applied anthropology; transformative practice and ethical frameworks for social change. Americas, South East Asia, Pacific.

External Affiliations

Co-Director ENRICH (Equity for Indigenous Research and Innovation Co-ordinating Hub)

Co-Director, Local Contexts. 

Global Fellow,  Engelberg Center for Innovation Law and Policy in the Law School at New York University.

Board of Trustees, Abbe Museum, Maine

Public Engagement

Awasəwehlαwə́lətinα wikəwαmok – They Returned Home (2023).

How Did a Self-Taught Linguist Come to Own an Indigenous Language?

Historic Recordings Revitalize Language for Passamaquoddy Tribal Members NPR (National Public Radio). Robbie Feinberg, All Things Considered. September 3 2019. 

Is a new copyright law a colonization of knowledge? by Graham Lee Brewer. High Country News Mar 5. 

Who Owns an Ancestral Photo, Voice and Song? By Cat Richardson NYU News

Artist in the Archive podcast

Engelberg Center Innovation Policy Colloquium 

The Passamaquoddy Reclaim Their Culture Through Digital Repatriation

Interview with Creative Commons

Interview on Wabanaki Windows - Penobscot Memorandum of Understanding 

Grants/Fellowships/Honors

2023 Andrew Mellon Foundation, Local Contexts

2022 Luce Foundation (with Stephanie Carroll, Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona Indigenous Data Sovereignty and Data Repositories

2021 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (with Maui Hudson, University of Waikato), ENRICH 

2021 Te Puni Kokiri – New Zealand Ministry of Maori Development (with Maui Hudson, University of Waikato), Aotearoa Local Contexts Pilot Project (2021)

2021 National Science Foundation (with Kerstin Lehnert, Columbia University, Neil Davies, UC Berkeley, Ramona Walls, University of Arizona and Sarah Kansa, Open Contexts), Sampling Nature Research Coordinating Network (2021-2024)

2020 Minderoo Foundation (with Maui Hudson, University of Waikato), ENRICH Global Chairs Program

2020 National Endowment for the Humanities, Local Contexts Hub Development (2020-2021)

2020 Institute for Museum and Library Services Laura Bush 21st C Librarian Grant (with James Francis Penobscot Nation and Stephanie Carroll Native Nations Institute, University of Arizona), Native Intellectual Property Intensive Training (2020-2023)

2019 National Endowment for the Arts Muhsumol Lintuwakon: Our Grandfather’s Songs (With Donald Soctomah and the Passamaquoddy Indian Township)

2019 Royal Society of New Zealand Catalyst Seeding Grant Te Tuākiri o te Tāonga: Recognizing Indigenous Interests in Genetic Resources (With Māui Hudson, University of Waikato NZ)

2018 National Endowment for the Humanities (Division of Preservation and Access)

Local Contexts| Collaborative Curation Training and Education for Indigenous collections (January 2019-January 2021)

2018 Institute of Museum and Library Services (with the Penobscot Nation in Maine)

Education in Intellectual Property and Tribal Governance For Negotiating With Cultural Institutions (November 2018-November 2020)

2017 Teaching with Technology Grant – Gallatin, New York University (2017)

Shadow Lines: The Hidden Relationships of Collecting (December 2017-May 2018)

2015 National Endowment for the Humanities (Division of Preservation and Access)

Local Contexts 2.0: Implementing the Traditional Knowledge Labels (Jan 2016-Jan 2019)

2015 New York University Research Challenge Fund

Local Contexts 1.5 (June 2015-May 2016)   

2015 Arcadia Foundation

Ancestral Voices/Local Contexts: A Model for the Preservation, Curation and Attribution of Indigenous Archival Collections (September 2015-September 2017)

2013 Merit Award, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.

2013 Mellon Foundation Mutual Mentoring

Laboratory for Transformative Practice in Anthropology (September 2013 – May 2014)

2012 World Intellectual Property Organization

TK Licenses and Labels Platform 1.0 (December 2012 – May 2013)

2012 Intellectual Property in Cultural Heritage, SSHRC Canada

TK Licenses and Labels Platform 1.0 (January 2013-September 2014)

2012 Lilly Teaching Fellowship, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.

2012 Interdisciplinary Seminar in the Humanities and Fine Arts (ISHA) Fellowship, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.

2011 Crossroads in the Study of the Americas (CISA) Fellowship, Five Colleges Program, Amherst, Massachusetts.

2007 Postdoctoral Fellowship, John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

2007 Fellowship, The Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

2006 Centre Fellowship, International Center For Advanced Studies, New York University, New York.

2005 Award for Excellence, Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, Australia.

2005 Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Smithsonian Institution.

Selected Publications

2023 ‘Indigenous Peoples Rights in Data: A Contribution Towards Indigenous Research Sovereignty. Frontiers in Research Metrics and Analytics 4.

2022 “Benefit sharing: Why inclusive provenance metadata matter,” with M. Hudson, K. Riddle, M. Hudson, N. Kusabs and T. Coltman Frontiers in Genetics,

2021 ‘Creating space for Indigenous perspectives on access and benefit-sharing: encouraging researcher use of the Local Contexts Notices’ with Libby Liggins and Maui Hudson Molecular Ecology

2020 ‘The Biocultural Labels Initiative: Supporting Indigenous rights in data derived from genetic resources’. With M. Hudson Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 4: e59230. https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.4.59230

2020 “The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance”. Carroll, S.R., Garba, I., Figueroa-Rodriguez,. Holbrook, J., Lovett, R., Materechera, S., Parsons, M., Raseroka, K., Rodriguez-Lonebear, D., Rowe, R.K., Sara, R., Walker, J.D., Anderson, J., & Hudson, M. Journal of Data Science

2020 “Rights, Interests, & Expectations: Indigenous perspectives on unrestricted access to genomic data” Hudson, M., Garrison, N., Sterling, R., Caron, N.R., Fox, K., Yracheta, J., Anderson, J., Wilcox, P., Arbour, L., Brown, A., Taualii, M., Kukutai, T., Haring, R., Te Aika, B., Baynam, G.S., Dearden, P.K, Chagne, D., Malhi, R.S. Garba, I., Tiffin, N., Bolnick, D., Stott, M., Rolleston, A.K. Ballantyne, L.L., Lovett, R., David-Chavez, D., Martinez, A., Sporle, A., Walter, M., Reading, J., Russo Carroll, S. Nature Review Genetics.

2019 ‘Decolonizing Attribution: Traditions of Exclusion’ with Kim Christen. Journal of Radical Librarianship Vol 5: pp 113-52.

2019 ‘Toward Slow Archives’ with Kim Christen. Archival Science 19: pp 87-116.

2018 ‘Negotiating Who Owns Penobscot Culture’. Anthropology Quarterly 91(1); pp 265-302.

2017 Routledge Companion to Cultural Property with Haidy Geismar. Routledge Press: London, United Kingdom.

2017 ‘Introduction’ with Haidy Geismar. In Routledge Companion in Cultural Property Jane Anderson and Haidy Geismar (eds), Routledge Press, pp 1-37.

2017 ‘Collaborative Encounters in Digital Cultural Property: Tracing Temporal Relationships of Context and Locality’ with Maria Montenegro. In Routledge Companion in Cultural Property Jane Anderson and Haidy Geismar (eds), Routledge Press, pp 431-451.

2017 ‘Labeling Knowledge: The semiotics of immaterial cultural property and the production of new Indigenous publics’ with Justin Richland and Hannah McElgunn. In Engaging Native American Publics: Linguistic Anthropology in a Collaborative Key Paul Krotisky and Barbra Meeks (eds) Routledge Press, pp 304-337.

2015 ‘Intellectual Property and Indigenous Knowledge’.  In International Encyclopedia for Social and Behavioral Sciences, James Wright (ed), (2nd Edition), Elsevier Press, pp 769-770.

2015‘Renegotiated Relationships and New Understandings: Indigenous Protocols’ with Greg Young-ing. In Free Knowledge: Confronting the Commodification of Human Discovery Patricia Elliot and Daryl Hepting (eds) University of Regina Press, pp 180-189. 

2015 WIPO Background Brief 8: Alternative Dispute Resolution for Disputes Related to Intellectual Property and Traditional Knowledge, Traditional Cultural Expressions and Genetic Resources. World Intellectual Property Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.

2013. ‘‘Chuck a Copyright on it’: Dilemmas of Digital Return and the Possibilities for Traditional Knowledge Licenses and Labels’ with Kim Christen. Museum Anthropology Review 7, (1-2) Spring-Fall; pp 105-126.

2013. ‘Anxieties of Authorship in Colonial Archives’ in Media Authorship C. Chris and D. Gerstner (ed), Routledge Press, pp 229-246.

2012. ‘Options for the Future Protection of GRTKTCES: The Traditional Knowledge License and Labels Initiative’ Journal of the World Intellectual Property Organization 4(1); pp 73-82.

2011. ‘On Resolution | Intellectual Property and Indigenous Knowledge Disputes | Prologue’ Landscapes of Violence, 2(1), Art 4; pp 1-14.

2010. Intellectual Property and Indigenous/Traditional Knowledge: Issues Paper Centre for the Study of the Public Domain, Law Faculty, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, pp 1-70.

2010. ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Heritage Management Part Two: Legal Dimensions, Ethical Considerations, and Collaborative Research Practices’ with George Nicholas, John Welch, Joe Watkins, Rosemary Coombe, Catherine Bell, Brain Noble and Kelly Banister. Heritage Management 3(1)pp 117-147.

2010. Safeguarding Cultural Heritage and Protecting Traditional Cultural Expressions: The Management of Intellectual Property Issues and Options – A Compendium for Museums, Archives and Libraries with Molly Torsen, World Intellectual Property Organization: Geneva, Switzerland.

2009. Law, Knowledge, Culture: The Production of Indigenous Knowledge in Intellectual Property Law Edward Elgar Press: Cheltenham, United Kingdom.

2009. ‘The Politics of Global Information Sharing’ with Kathy Bowrey. Social and Legal Studies 18(4); pp 479-504.

2009. ‘(Colonial) Archives and (Copyright) Law’ Nomorepotlucks 1(4), July.

2009. ‘Intellectual Property Issues in Heritage Management: Part One – Challenges and Opportunities Relating to Appropriation, Information Access, Bioarchaeology and Cultural Tourism’ with George Nicholas, Catherine Bell, Kelly Bannister, Sven Ouzman. Heritage Management 2(2) Fall; pp 261-286.

2008. Framework for Indigenous Community Protocols, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, Australia, pp 1-37.

2006. Intellectual Property and Indigenous Knowledge: Access, Ownership and Control of Cultural Materials – Final Report with Recommendations Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra, Australia, pp 1-365.

2005. Access and Control of Indigenous Knowledge in Libraries and Archives: Ownership and Future Use, The MacArthur Foundation and the American Library Association, pp 1-36.

2005. ‘The Making of Indigenous Knowledge in Intellectual Property Law in Australia’ International Journal of Cultural Property 12(3); pp 345-371.

2005. ‘Access, Authority and Ownership: Traditional Indigenous Biodiversity-related Knowledge’ Australian Indigenous Knowledge and Libraries, Martin Nakata and Marcia Langton (ed), Canberra: Australian Academic & Research Libraries, pp 72-82.

2004. ‘The Politics of Indigenous Knowledge: Australia’s Proposed Communal Moral Rights Bill’ University of New South Wales Law Journal 27(3); pp 585-605.

Forthcoming

‘Repatriation as Pedagogy’ with Sonya Atalay. Current Anthropology

‘Decolonial Futures of Sharing: 'Protecting Our Voice', Intellectual Property and Penobscot Language Materials’ with James Eric Francis Snr (Penobscot Nation). In Patrick Spiro, Abigail Shelton and Adrianna Link, (eds).  Translating Across Time and Space: Endangered Languages, Cultural Revitalization and the Work of History, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. In Press

“Towards the Slow Archive” with Kim Christen for Archival Science.

“Copyright, Settler Colonialism and the Dispossession of Indigenous Knowledge” for For the IP/Race Anthology (Deirdre Keller, Minh-ha T. Pham, and Anjali Vats, eds.)

“From Creative Commons to Local Contexts” 

Current News/Projects

Updated October 2021

With Professor Māui Hudson, University of Waikato NZ, Jane has extended Local Contexts to include the Biocultural Labels for genetic resources/natural information and within the biological and genomic data sciences. This work brings together expertise in Indigenous rights, intellectual property law, genomic science, data science and international Indigenous data sovereignty networks to practically encode Indigenous provenance information and cultural responsibilities and obligations into research data, including DSI, collected on and around Indigenous lands, territories and waters. 

ENRICH (Equity in Indigenous Research and Innovation Co-ordinating Hub) is an international initiative to fast-track and scale out the development and implementation of Indigenous approaches to data ethics, collective privacy, data governance, digital infrastructure, and responsive policy. By providing strategic resources and practical solutions, these collective initiatives are working towards a new paradigm of rights and responsibilities that recognizes the inherent sovereignty that Indigenous communities have over cultural heritage and data. 

With Emily Johnson, Jane works on DAC-5 to develop decolonial and Indigenizing initiatives for Indigenous communities and within institutional contexts. See Emily Johnson’s Decolonization Rider.

With Stephanie Russo Carroll, Jane is Vice-Chair of the IEEE P2890 Working Group Recommended Practice for the Provenance of Indigenous Peoples Data.

Since 2020, Jane has also been the legal advisor to the Wabanaki Advisory Board involved in the development of the Visitor Contact Station by Elliotsville Foundation at Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.