Who owns Indigenous Culture – Dream Colloquium lecture

Ian Lilley, a professor at Australia’s University of Queensland, will address ownership of native culture at the second installment in one of two lecture series in the SFU President’s Dream Colloquium. OnThursday, Jan. 22, 3:30-5 p.m. at West Mall Centre 3260, Burnaby campus, Lilley will deliver Who Owns Indigenous Culture…When the World Comes Knocking? Indigenous Cultural Heritage and World Heritage, the World Bank and World-Wide Corporations. The lecture is one of a six-part series on protecting indigenous cultural heritage.

Lilley, who teaches Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies in Australia, researches pre-European trading systems in islands off New Guinea. His 30-year academic career in Australasian and Indo-Pacific archaeology and cultural heritage management has led him to investigate how several factors impact the “ownership” of indigenous culture. These factors, which impact the fate of indigenous peoples globally, include, social identity, archaeological ethics, and the role of archaeology and cultural heritage in contemporary society.

Kristen Dobbin, a communications specialist with the SFU-led Intellectual Property Issues Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) research team, is handling media queries. IPinCH is a co-sponsor of this lecture series.

Kristen Dobbin (best reached via email), kristen_dobbin@sfu.ca