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Copyright & Fair Dealing Guide

Indigenous Knowledge and Copyright Guides

The College Libraries of Ontario Learning Portal has an excellent Indigenous Inclusion website that supports learning about Indigenous copyright, cultural appropriation and protocols for conducting research in Indigenous communities and approaching elders for knowledge.

The University of Saskatchewan has also created a comprehensive guide to Indigenous Knowledges and Canadian Copyright Law

First Nations Principles of OCAP

Understanding the First Nations Principles of OCAP™: Our Road Map to Information Governance (Short)

Video Courtesy of The First Nations Information Governance Centre

The First Nations Information Governance Centre (FNIGC) is home to the First Nations principles of OCAP®, a set of standards that establish how First Nations data should be collected, protected, used, or shared. They are the de facto standard for how to conduct research with First Nations.

OCAP® (which stands for ownership, control, access, and possession) means that First Nations control data collection processes in their communities and that First Nations own, protect, and control how their information is used. Access to First Nations data is important, and under OCAP® First Nations determine how and when external researchers and academics are allowed to access and use their information.

(FNIGC, 2022)

This information is intended to provide guidance; it should not be interpreted as legal advice 

The shared Nipissing University and Canadore College campus sits on the territory of Nipissing First Nation, the territory of the Anishnabek, within lands protected by the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. We are grateful to be able to live and learn on these lands with all our relations.