This course explores the development of cultural property law, with a particular emphasis on the cultural heritage and intellectual traditions of Indigenous Peoples. It examines how Indigenous claims have shaped and challenged conventional legal doctrines, especially by advancing protections for collective rights, intergenerational stewardship, and non-economic forms of property, including intangible cultural expressions such as origin stories, ethnobotanical knowledge, and genetic resources.

Students will study key U.S. federal statutes — such as the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) of 1990 — and international instruments, including the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) of 2007. These legal frameworks recognize and affirm Indigenous Peoples' rights to self-determination in managing and safeguarding their cultural resources.

In addition to doctrinal analysis, the course will engage with the theoretical and policy dimensions of cultural property law. Students will critically evaluate competing interests — such as scientific inquiry, free speech, and market-based access to cultural materials — that may come into tension with Indigenous claims. The course invites students to interrogate the foundational legal, cultural, and political assumptions underlying cultural property regimes, with sustained attention to the intersection of law, culture, and Indigenous sovereignty.