What happens when ritual practitioners from a small Pacific nation make an intellectual property claim to bungee jumping? When a German company successfully sues to defend its trademark of a MÄori name? Or when UNESCO deems ephemeral sand drawings to be "intangible cultural heritage"? In Treasured Possessions; Haidy Geismar examines how global forms of cultural and intellectual property are being redefined by everyday people and policymakers in two markedly different Pacific nations. The New Hebrides; a small archipelago in Melanesia managed jointly by Britain and France until 1980; is now the independent nation-state of Vanuatu; with a population that is more than 95 percent indigenous. New Zealand; by contrast; is a settler state and former British colony that engages with its entangled Polynesian and British heritage through an ethos of "biculturalism" that is meant to involve an indigenous population of just 15 percent. Alternative notions of property; resources; and heritagemdash;informed by distinct national historiesmdash;are emerging in both countries. These property claims are advanced in national and international settings; but they emanate from specific communities and cultural landscapes; and they are grounded in an awareness of ancestral power and inheritance. They reveal intellectual and cultural property to be not only legal constructs but also powerful ways of asserting indigenous identities and sovereignties.
#3036692 in eBooks 2014-04-16 2014-04-16File Name: B00JQFBU72
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The story of an early California community in words and picturesBy D. JamesonRedwood Valley is a small rural expanse of vineyards; fruit orchards and grain fields about 120 miles north of San Francisco in the coastal mountains of California. It has now become mostly a bedroom community for the nearby town of Ukiah as well as a comfortable retreat for retires from afar. But when I was growing up there in the 1940s and 50s; the third generation of a family whose forbears were among the original settlers; it still had something of a frontier atmosphere. I vividly recall my grandfathers tales of herding the sheep into timbered barns every night to protect them from prowling grizzly bears. And I will never forget the experience; as a toddler; of observing local hunters display a mountain lion which they had killed in the nearby hills in front of the general store.In their compact volume of pictures and prose; Marvin and Linda Talso; whose roots in the valley also go back several generations; have well documented the lives; the grit and the civic spirit of the early residents who laid the foundations for a strong and enduring commune. In terms that no doubt echo the experience of countless other places across America; they depict the lives of the peaceful Native Americans who eked out an existence in this favored place before the arrival of the Europeans. They show how the early settlers of many nationalities: Scots; Finns; Italians; Germans; Irish and Greeks established their homesteads and grew together into a broader family. They portray the one room school houses where the children of early arrivals received a rudimentary education. They tell of the first local industry; a charcoal kiln; and of the railroad line which ran next to it where freight trains paused to pick up an extra helper engine to boost them over the steep grade going north. And they describe the clubs and associations which grew up to meet common needs; especially the development of a fire protection association from bucket brigade into a modern well equipped and trained force; all through local initiative; leadership and funding.While this book will naturally be of greatest interest to those with a direct connection to Redwood Valley and its citizens; past and present; it is more broadly a tribute to the spirit and determination that built our great nation. I left this engaging place over 50 years ago to follow a career that took me across the country and around the world; returning only for brief visits with family and friends. But these pages bring back deep memories of what in retrospect seems a near idyllic childhood among a strong and resilient people.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great quality for the priceBy Ladinamy husband is from Redwood Valley and served on their RVCFD for a few years as paid staff. His family has lived in the area off and on for many years. We found the book more of a photo album but still very interesting with the stories surrounding the photos. Great quality for the price! I would recommend this purchase!
