Abstract
Under current international law, indigenous rights are not considered in ascertaining ownership of underwater cultural property. Indigenous people in Latin America and South America have faced long histories of colonialism, wherein their resources, property, and heritage were appropriated and taken by imperial powers. In this Article, I present the historical context of both the San Jose and Mercedes shipwrecks—Spanish colonial ships that were sunk in battle. I explore the history and legal decisions in both cases, while also considering how indigenous rights can be introduced into the current legal framework. Current international law concerning underwater cultural resources is primarily comprised of common law, international customary law, and United Nation's treaties and conventions. The current legal structure does not address indigenous interests adequately. I look to the United States' legal and regulatory framework for cultural and natural resource management as a model for international underwater resource management. Using U.S. law as a model, I ultimately propose a combination of the Public Trust Doctrine, U.S. archaeology laws, and state guidelines for the Abandoned Shipwrecks Act as a remedy to ensure protection of post-excavation underwater cultural resources in the international context.
Recommended Citation
Haynes, Chelle
(2018)
"Decolonizing Shipwrecks Through Considerations of Indigeneity in Underwater Cultural Property Decisions,"
Florida Journal of International Law: Vol. 30:
Iss.
2, Article 2.
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/fjil/vol30/iss2/2