Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A biodiversity database adopts Biocultural Labels to communicate community-issued protocols on specimens originating from Indigenous lands.
- Is an instance
Genetic sequence records associated with traditional medicine plants carry community-issued Biocultural Labels.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Standard taxonomic metadata applied without community involvement does not constitute Biocultural Labels.
- Not an instance
Restrictive sample-sharing terms imposed unilaterally by a research institution do not function as Biocultural Labels.
Editorial commentary
Biocultural (BC) Labels are a digital labelling system stewarded by Local Contexts that extends its Traditional Knowledge (TK) Labels to genetic resources and biological/genomic data. Conceptualised by Jane Anderson and Maui Hudson in 2019, with Indigenous Design and Innovation Aotearoa (IDIA) in Wellington, New Zealand, BC Labels let Indigenous communities attach community-issued metadata to biocultural collections and data — genetic samples, ethnobotanical records, environmental data with cultural significance, digital sequence information — communicating provenance and expectations about use.
The three label categories
- Provenance Labels identify the primary cultural authority for the material, or recognise other interested communities (BC Provenance, BC Multiple Communities, BC Clan).
- Protocol Labels record whether community consent protocols have been followed (BC Consent Verified, BC Consent Non-Verified).
- Permission Labels indicate what the community has approved — research use, collaboration, commercialisation, outreach, or non-commercial use only — with any other use requiring direct engagement with the primary cultural authority.
How BC Labels differ from TK Labels
TK Labels apply broadly across cultural heritage material — recordings, images, ceremonial items, oral histories — while BC Labels are the same instrument family purpose-built for genetic sequences, specimens, and environmental data with cultural significance. They share a visual design lineage so institutions recognise them as one system, but are distinct instruments for distinct material types; a repository handling both may need both.
Not a legal license
A BC Label communicates a community’s expectations and consent status; it is administered by the community through the Local Contexts Hub and does not itself create or waive any legal right. It is a governance signal layered onto—not a substitute for—the legal instruments a research office still needs, such as material transfer or data-sharing agreements. This distinguishes BC Labels from principles-level frameworks like the CARE Principles, which govern institutional practice rather than an individual record.
What this means for research administration
Biodiversity repositories, sequence databases, and biobanks holding Indigenous-originated genetic or biocultural data should check incoming records for BC Labels and honour the conditions expressed, routing any request to apply a Label to the originating community via the Local Contexts Hub rather than assigning one unilaterally. A DMP for a project generating such data should describe how BC Labels will be tracked through the data lifecycle.
References
- Local Contexts, "BC Labels," localcontexts.org/labels/biocultural-labels.
Also known as
BC Labels
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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