Using motion capture technologies to assess the degree of similarity for intangible cultural heritage expressions

After multiple cases of misappropriation of intangible cultural heritage expressions, indigenous communities must still rely on the public outcry to stop third parties from illegitimately exploiting their traditions. Beyond raising awareness of the pervasiveness of these practices, pragmatic tools have to be developed to strengthen the conservation and transmission of traditional cultural expressions in action, such as dances, rituals, and performances, with special attention to the digital environments wherein they circulate. To defy the apparent contradiction between technology and indigenous culture, the “Movement Similarity Project” explored new technologies of human-movement recognition to understand the possibilities of similarity algorithms and motion capture repositories to overcome the vulnerability in which indigenous dances dwell. These interdisciplinary efforts are raised to protect the interests and livelihoods of indigenous peoples in relation to their intangible cultural heritage, until new parameters to prevent their misappropriation arise on a global scale