Ken Chisa

Decolonising indigenous intellectual and cultural rights in heritage institutions : a survey of policy and protocol in South Africa

This article analyses the protection of indigenous knowledge (IK) in South Africa, exploring if and how the rights of indigenous peoples are insulated from pillage by existing policy and protocol frameworks in cultural heritage institutions. The article examines how policy and protocol in these institutions, the socio-economic realities within indigenous communities and legislative bottlenecks bear on the digitisation enterprise in the country. The study used the Delphi method to collect and analyse data. The major finding of the study was that, in an attempt to safeguard indigenous intellectual and cultural rights, some cultural heritage institutions are seeking to bridge the gap between Western legal requirements and indigenous intellectual rights by the inclusion of specific policy measures which take on board indigenous interests and concerns. The major themes that emerged from the study have cultural, legislative and structural underpinnings. These themes outline the fundamental characteristics of the policies and protocols of digitisation initiatives in the country. The study recommends that heritage institutions in South Africa should recognise their influence as socio cultural agents and actively submit ‘decolonising’ recommendations for statutory development. It also urges these institutions to continue building consultation networks with various indigenous stakeholders in order to improve best practice.

Indigenous Music Goes Digital: Reconciling Culture and the Law

This study examined the contesting legal and cultural sensitivity binary surrounding the digitisation of indigenous music in South Africa. The Delphi technique was used to determine if there is any pattern or consensus around these issues. Questionnaires emailed to indigenous music collectors, indigenous music donors and various researchers in this field collected information on the intersection of intellectual property rights (IPR) and customary law in local digitisation initiatives. A review of relevant literature was also conducted to trace related trends in similar projects. The findings of the study show that, from a legal and cultural perspective, developing an ethical professional practice during the course of collecting and aggregating indigenous materials on the internet should involve managing a range of risks associated with breaches of both indigenous customary law and Western IPR. This risk should be managed through various sets of disclaimers, warnings, and other mechanisms for withdrawal of indigenous materials which stakeholders may contest. The study recommends that certain aspects of indigenous knowledge never enter the public domain (as prescribed by customary law) and remain protected as such in perpetuity.

Information-Seeking Behaviour and Library Use by Academic Theologians in South Africa

This study discusses findings of a survey that analysed the information-seeking behavior and library use of academic theologians employed in seven theological institutions in South Africa which constitute the Pietermaritzburg Cluster of Theological Libraries (PCTL). Data on age, academic qualifications, information-seeking habits, and library use of the theologians were gathered by means of a questionnaire, literature review, interviews and observation. The research draws conclusions about the nature of information-seeking patterns and library use of these theologians in relation to their institutional libraries. Barriers to information seeking are identified and suggestions on how to tackle them are provided. The findings of the study show that academic theologians are consistent users of libraries but mostly rely more on personal collections than institutional collections. Moreover, the study found that while the theologians are reasonably satisfied with their institutional libraries, most of them feel that collections, rather than services need improvement. It is hoped that data and questionnaire comments arising from this study will contribute to improved theological library services within the PCTL and beyond.

MANAGING CHURCH RECORDS RELATING TO INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES AT THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF NATAL

The Anglican Diocese of Natal in South Africa (hereafter the Diocese) is part of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. It covers the western part of the KwaZulu-Natal province, west and south of the Tugela and Buffalo rivers. The Episcopal leader of the diocese is the Bishop of Natal. This study aimed to examine the current records management framework at the Archives of the Anglican Diocese of Natal (hereafter the Archives), especially with regard to records relating to indigenous laity within the Diocese. The study identified the strengths and weaknesses of this framework and recommends an effective and efficient records management protocol for the future. The study was based on a literature review and the personal experiences and observations of one of the researchers who worked at the Diocese at the time of the study. The study concludes that the Diocese does not have a clear records management programme to deliberately guide the management of indigenous related records. It recommends the need to embrace information and communication technologies (ICTs) and other innovative changes in in order to create an enabling environment to facilitate records location, accessibility, retrieval and the timely utilisation of information.The paper argues that a reconfiguration of policy and methods needs to take place in order to acknowledge the many faceted relationships that exist between indigenous peoples and records, and to recognise the rights of indigenous communities to participate in the process of decision making about records management and practices. The paper considers these issues by examining challenges that are presented in managing existing indigenous collections in church repositories in South Africa, followed by a discussion about the challenges and opportunities that exist in the digital domain for rich and diverse collections to be created that allow for multiple perspectives.