Genomics, Governance, and Indigenous Peoples (November 6-7, 2008) will gather together 8-10 scholar practitioners to discuss the promise and perils of current efforts to transform indigenous peoples' governance of genomic research. Invited participants include experts in human genetics and the social, legal, and ethical aspects of genomics in different national and cultural contexts. Individual participants have experience working within existing regimes of governance, and they see a need for policy innovation and change in relation to genomic research. Some participants are already engaged in experimental efforts to create change. Participants will engage in several facilitated dialogues organized around several themes including property, sovereignty, and the "politics of representation" (who represents whom and who decides?) First conceived as a workshop focused on the United States and "tribal" governance of genomics, the workshop has broadened to include scholar practitioners working in other parts of the world in recognition that strategies for governing genomic research cannot be contained by national borders. Workshop outcomes will be relevant for indigenous governance within multiple national contexts. They include an edited, multi-authored volume, and a policy paper focusing on the core themes of the workshop: property and various forms of sovereignty as those are informed by both domestic and international structures of law and policy. The workshop is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
Participants, please login to the workshop wiki page for logistical information and to download workshop documents.