Indigenous Evaluation Frameworks: Can the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage be a guide for recognizing Indigenous scholarship within tenure and promotion standards?

Abstract

The 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage formally recognizes intangible cultural heritage. This article focuses on Indigenous intangible culture and reviews the 2003 Convention, including what is it, how it has come about, how intangible cultural heritage is defined in it, and the policies arising from it. In tandem with the 2003 Convention, museums have adopted a living culture approach toward Indigenous cultural heritage. Indigenous peoples have been pivotal in these policy shifts. The article then considers universities and asks whether the 2003 Convention, and its policies, can guide tenure and promotion policy for the appropriate evaluation of Indigenous scholarship. The rationale for this comparative is that Indigenous scholarship is embedded in intangible culture. Using 2003 Convention as a baseline, this article offers a potential policy framework for establishing said process.