Indigenous peoples are increasingly making requests for the return of their ancestors’ human remains and ancient indigenous deoxyribonucleic acid. However, some museums and scientists have refused to repatriate indigenous human remains or have initiated protracted delays. There are successful examples of the return of ancient indigenous human remains however the focus of this book is an examination of the "hard" cases. The continued retention perpetuates cultural harm and is a continuing violation of the rights of indigenous peoples. Therefore this book develops a litigation Toolkit which can be used in such disputes and includes legal and quasi legal instruments from the following frameworks, cultural property, cultural heritage, cultural rights, collective heritage, intellectual property, Traditional Knowledge and human rights. The book draws on a process of recharacterisation. Recharacterisation is to be understood to mean the allocation of an indigenous peoples understanding and character of ancient indigenous human remains and ancient indigenous DNA, in order to counter the property narrative articulated by museums and scientists in disputes.

Methodologies and legislative frameworks regarding the archaeological excavation, retrieval, analysis, curation and potential reburial of human skeletal remains differ throughout the world. As work forces have become increasingly mobile and international research collaborations are steadily increasing, the need for a more comprehensive understanding of different national research traditions, methodologies and legislative structures within the academic and commercial sector of physical anthropology has arisen. The Routledge Handbook of Archaeological Human Remains and Legislation provides comprehensive information on the excavation of archaeological human remains and the law through 62 individual country contributions from Europe, Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Australasia. More specifically, the volume discusses the following: What is the current situation (including a brief history) of physical anthropology in the country? What happens on discovering human remains (who is notified, etc.)? What is the current legislation regarding the excavation of archaeological human skeletal remains? Is a license needed to excavate human remains? Is there any specific legislation regarding excavation in churchyards? Any specific legislation regarding war graves? Are physical anthropologists involved in the excavation process? Where is the cut-off point between forensic and archaeological human remains (e.g. 100 years, 50 years, 25 years...)? Can human remains be transported abroad for research purposes? What methods of anthropological analysis are mostly used in the country? Are there any methods created in that country which are population-specific? Are there particular ethical issues that need to be considered when excavating human remains, such as religious groups or tribal groups? In addition, an overview of landmark anthropological studies and important collections are provided where appropriate. The entries are contained by an introductory chapter by the editors which establish the objectives and structure of the book, setting it within a wider archaeological framework, and a conclusion which explores the current European and world-wide trends and perspectives in the study of archaeological human remains. The Routledge Handbook of Archaeological Human Remains and Legislation makes a timely, much-needed contribution to the field of physical anthropology and is unique as it combines information on the excavation of human remains and the legislation that guides it, alongside information on the current state of physical anthropology across several continents. It is an indispensible tool for archaeologists involved in the excavation of human remains around the world.

This highly original work demonstrates the fundamental role of customary law for the realization of Indigenous peoples’ human rights and for sound national and international legal governance. The book reviews the legal status of customary law and its relationship with positive and natural law from the time of Plato up to the present. It examines its growing recognition in constitutional and international law and its dependence on and at times strained relationship with human rights law. The author analyzes the role of customary law in tribal, national and international governance of Indigenous peoples’ lands, resources and cultural heritage. He explores the challenges and opportunities for its recognition by courts and alternative dispute resolution mechanisms, including issues of proof of law and conflicts between customary practices and human rights. He throws light on the richness inherent in legal diversity and key principles of customary law and their influence in legal practice and on emerging notions of intercultural equity and justice. He concludes that Indigenous peoples’ rights to their customary legal regimes and states’ obligations to respect and recognize customary law, in order to secure their human rights, are principles of international customary law, and as such binding on all states. At a time when the self-determination, land, resources and cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples are increasingly under threat, this accessible book presents the key issues for both legal and non-legal scholars, practitioners, students of human rights and environmental justice, and Indigenous peoples themselves.

The Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law (IJICL) is published under the auspices of the Institute for Migrant Rights (IMR), Cianjur—Indonesia. The idea behind its establishment grew out of the concern over an impasse in contemporary and comparative legal scholarship in Indonesia and the region in general. As a transnational scholarly project, the Journal provides a forum for legal practitioners and scholars from the Republic of Indonesia, Asia, and elsewhere to discuss a broad range of issues relating to “law.” As States become more integrated, there is a pressing need to respond to the climate where legal, social, and political issues increasingly cross national boundaries in their impact. The Journal, in its global reach, is designed to address these considerations by challenging the orthodoxies that once considered “progressive.” Its primary purpose is to provide a new forum for emerging perspectives on international and comparative legal issues, especially those that implicate non-Western regions or cultures. In that respect, the Journal—through its publications—aims to enrich existing approaches to legal analysis and widen the proper ambit of legal studies in the Global South. The Journal is thus particularly interested in considering submissions that invoke creative outlooks on “law” and present arguments that go beyond doctrinal analysis. We strongly encourage works that aim to generate practical impact in policy-making at all levels. The Journal welcomes theoretical, historical, comparative, and inter-disciplinary manuscripts covering legal issues in any jurisdiction, as well as notes and book reviews examining the impact of rapidly changing legal regimes on specific areas or sub-disciplines of legal studies.

The book examines the national, regional and international frameworks of protection of traditional knowledge in all regions of the world. It also discusses options to enhance the existing legal regimes including the use of customary laws and protocols; the adoption of mutual recognition agreements premised on the principle of reciprocity; and the disclosure of source or country of origin of traditional knowledge in intellectual property applications.

This outstanding reference source to epistemic injustice is the first collection of its kind. Over thirty chapters address topics such as testimonial and hermeneutic injustice and virtue epistemology, objectivity and objectification, implicit bias, gender and race.

Indigenous peoples around the world are seeking greater control over tangible and intangible cultural heritage. In Canada, issues concerning repatriation and trade of material culture, heritage site protection, treatment of ancestral remains, and control over intangible heritage are governed by a complex legal and policy environment. This volume looks at the key features of Canadian, US, and international law influencing indigenous cultural heritage in Canada. Legal and extralegal avenues for reform are examined and opportunities and limits of existing frameworks are discussed. Is a radical shift in legal and political relations necessary for First Nations concerns to be meaningfully addressed?

This book is the first of its kind, combining international perspectives on the current ethical considerations and challenges facing bioarchaeologists in the recovery, analysis, curation, and display of human remains. It explores how museum curators, commercial practitioners, forensic anthropologists, and bioarchaeologists deal with ethical issues pertaining to human remains in traditional and digital settings around the world. The book not only raises key ethical questions concerning the study, display, and curation of skeletal remains that bioarchaeologists must face and overcome in different countries, but also explores how this global community can work together to increase awareness of similar and, indeed, disparate ethical considerations around the world and how they can be addressed in working practices. The key aspects addressed include ethics in bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, the excavation, curation, and display of human remains, repatriation, and new imaging techniques. As such, the book offers an ideal guide for students and practitioners in the fields of bioarchaeology, osteoarchaeology, forensic anthropology, medical anthropology, archaeology, anatomy, museum and archive studies, and philosophy, detailing how some ethical dilemmas have been addressed and which future dilemmas need to be considered.

The Indonesian Journal of International & Comparative Law: Socio-Political Perspectives is a forum for progressive domestic entrenchement of the cosmopolitan values that has been going on for over six decades at the international plane which is an initiative of the Institute for Migrant Rights, an academic based initiative that emphasize the inadequacy of the prevailing models that tends to exemplify the State centrality in international issues. As the Institute noted in its founding document, "the traditional models of advocacy that predominate have produced very limited results in terms of actual government protection for this population [that] failed to link the international law and human rights."

Where do our distant ancestors come from, and which routes did they travel around the globe as hunter–gatherers in prehistoric times? Genomics provides a fascinating insight into these questions and unlocks a mass of information carried by strands of DNA in each cell of the human body. For Indigenous peoples, scientific research of any kind evokes past – and not forgotten – suffering, racial and racist taxonomy, and, finally, dispossession. Survival of human cell lines outside the body clashes with traditional beliefs, as does the notion that DNA may tell a story different from their own creation story. Extracting and analysing DNA is a new science, barely a few decades old. In the medical field, it carries the promise of genetically adapted health-care. However, if this is to be done, genetic identity has to be defined first. While a narrow genetic definition might be usable by medical science, it does not do justice to Indigenous peoples’ cultural identity and raises the question of governmental benefits where their genetic identity is not strong enough. People migrate and intermix, and have always done so. Genomics trace the genes but not the cultures. Cultural survival – or revival – and Indigenous group cohesion are unrelated to DNA, explaining why Indigenous leaders adamantly refuse genetic testing. This book deals with the issues surrounding ‘biomapping’ the Indigenous, seen from the viewpoints of discourse analysts, historians, lawyers, anthropologists, sociologists, museum curators, health-care specialists, and Native researchers.