Documenting Maya Traditional Cultural Expressions is a gift for future generations - a gift for all of humanity!
Monica Boța-Moisin, founder of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI), talks about the alliance with Chiapas Maya Project in Chiapas and the need for best practice examples from all over the world of how to interact with, nurture, protect and develop Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs).
Author: Monica Boța-Moisin
Translation in Spanish language: Helena Rojas Lopez
Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities around the world have very different and unique histories, cultural contexts, worldviews and challenges. Many people, from all walks of life, including government leaders, lawyers, business professionals, academics, students, fashion designers, and many more, are not aware of these stories and histories. Some of these histories are dominated by systemic injustice, oppression, inequality, and even genocide – cultural and human. At the same time these are extremely powerful histories, histories that teach the world resilience, teach the world how to listen to Mother Nature and be connected to everything there is, histories of living in harmony with one another and with Nature. It is now over five years since, as a lawyer and a creative professional, I am working with one of the most sensitive, most spiritual and most powerful topics that can be protected by human-made law: the Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) of Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities. This is my way of keeping the heritage of my grandmothers alive. One of them, Emilia, was a hard-working and highly respected lawyer and the other one, Anuța, an equally hard-working and very talented weaver, embroiderer and lace-maker.
Despite the differences in worldviews, cultural contexts and histories which must be acknowledged and well understood, all Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities still face common challenges at an international level including cultural misappropriation, loss of local and indigenous languages, migration and immigration of young generations, disenfranchisement and more. I do not know if we’ll ever be able to change these realities in my lifetime. S, surely we We will not be able to succeed alone, but we can at least find ways to address them together. These solutions include best practices from around the world in relation to documenting TK and TCEs, developing frameworks for legal protection and sharing best practices based on customary laws and implication of Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities.
I am part of a small local community in Bihor county, Romania, but since founding the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI) on April 26th 2018, I have worked with people from 17 different countries, with different cultural backgrounds and histories. What brings us together is a shared vision. Honoring the creativity, wisdom and innovation of Indigenous People, ethnic groups and local communities and advocating for a new generation of rights that acknowledge Indigenous peoplesPeoples, ethnic groups and local communities’ self-determination and collective rights to protect their Traditional Knowledge (TK), Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs), governance systems and worldviews.
Our mission at CIPRI is to be of service to Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities and weave constructive dialogues with stakeholders from the fashion and creative industries for systemic change in fashion and law from the current models that largely foster inequity and promote private ownership, towards inclusive, collective-rights focused, benefit-sharing-based knowledge partnerships. Our goal is to center attention to the need for recognition of collective cultural intellectual property rights and to steer conversations away from dangerous simplifications of “who owns this or that” confined to the limits of the existing laws. We aim to catalyze a broader conversation on Values and how we build alliances for crafting an inspiring and nurturing future for all of humanity. There is no one more knowledgeable and more suitable to learn from about how to interact with, nurture, protect and develop Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) than the custodians of this knowledge and cultural expressions: the Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups, local communities.
In preparation for and during the 2022 CIPRI Fieldwork and Consultations with Indigenous Artisans in Chiapas, Mexico we were very grateful to benefit from the support and partnership of Chiapas Maya Project. One of the objectives of our pro-bono work in Chiapas was to develop alliances for international partnerships on grassroots-led actionable tools that ensure indigenous artisans have decision-making power in the processes of legally protecting their Traditional Textile Cultural Expressions and the Intangible Cultural Heritage linked to textiles. Through their ample efforts of documenting Maya material culture, Chiapas Maya Project is engaging in a process of documenting Traditional Cultural Expressions with a great positive impact in Chiapas and beyond. Documenting Maya Traditional Cultural Expressions is a gift for future generations – a gift for all of humanity!
Documenting Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) can be an important component of legal protection of TCEs, if combined with other tools and strategies. Documentation of TCEs may also mean that they are more widely available and accessible to the general public and this can increase the need for legal protection. When contemplating under what conditions will the documentation be accessed by different categories of users, it can be useful to consider the 3Cs’ Rule: Consent. Credit. Compensation© Framework. The framework was also used by the Oma People of Nanam Village in Laos when creating their database of Oma traditional cultural expressions: The Oma Traditional Textile Design Database© (2021).
The 3Cs’ Rule Framework is an actionable tool proposed by CIPRI as a soft law framework in the benefit of Indigenous Peoples, ethnic groups and local communities. It is inspired by article 31 of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (“UNDRIP”) which recognizes their right to maintain, control, protect and develop their Cultural Heritage, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions, the rules of attribution or acknowledgement of the source, and the benefit-sharing provisions related to access to and use of genetic resources provided by the Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity. The right to Free Prior and Informed Consent (“FPIC”) is also guaranteed by the UNDRIP. The 3Cs’ Rule Framework was developed and proposed by CIPRI in the context of the lack of an international legally binding framework for the protection of Traditional Textile Cultural Expressions and the Intangible Cultural Heritage linked to textiles.
Images:
Copyright: Monica Parra Hinojosa, 2022. Consultation with Sna Jolobil, the first artisans’ collective in San Cristóbal de Las Casas.
Copyright: Monica Boța-Moisin, 2022. The Booklets reached San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas.
Copyright: Monica Boța-Moisin, 2022. Consultation with NGOimpacto in Tenejapa, Chiapas.
