Along my tenure of studies, one reoccurring theme was seeing heritage in every place I went. The built environment is interwoven with our history in ways we often do not get a chance to stop, look around, or appreciate. We are enveloped in vignettes of our history, even as we pass by for some other thing.
One of the themes was heritage law. It permeates the fabric of our built environment, and every civilization that has ever existed has had a law that deals with some aspect of heritage and cultural preservation. Our wars have been fought over who gets to eat, who has the right to a territory, who has the right to expand, who can we enlist in war. Almost all have some ethnographic element that ties into our heritage – and our natural heritage.
Take Washington State, for example. Some of the most historic sites in the world are here in Washington State, or in close proximity. These range from the Oregon Trail, where many native peoples’ lives were subjugated by settler expansion, to Fort Vancouver, which played its role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition, through to the Washington Territory and eventually statehood.
Protecting, preserving and enhancing cultural and natural heritage is a primary function of the human experience. It inspires us, reminds us, and provides humanity with a documented history; without which we lose all sense of who we are, what we did, how we did it, when, and where.
This is why having the right legal representation for businesses, especially those directly tied to cultural and natural heritage, is essential for maximizing and broadening heritage. And the Heritage Educational Portal understands this: „Too often do we compromise the future of our cultural and natural heritage, particularly in the face of budget, goals, timelines, etc. In the moment, these are reasonable things to consider, but we must not forget the wisdom of our elders and their communities.”
So, the first thing to understand is what is out there, in your jurisdiction, for heritage related businesses? For many heritage people and businesses, it is hard to find qualified help in the grand scope of generalist lawyers – i.e., people who know a little about a lot. This is not to say that there are not some great generalist lawyers out there, but if you are a heritage business, you need to find a business lawyer vancouver wa who knows heritage legislation.
Next, and closely related to the above, is to find a lawyer with experience in your area of heritage. If this is building preservation, exploration, land use, farming – it doesn’t matter, each and every facet of heritage has legislation and quality lawyers out there who can help you.
Also, the pages that have been published by The Heritage Educational Portal are clear in what they are trying to say, what they believe and they are really good at reminding you of the value of our collective pasts. So, just like they would help you in regards to your development or education – you should find them to help you with legal advice as well.
Now, for the number one question: How does this education, heritage preservation, and the greater societal good relate to business and law?
Well, for starters, you don’t have to be a multi-million-dollar operation to have a lawyer regularly used to dealing with heritage legislation. There are lawyers who specialize in cultural heritage law and this, of course, is the best situation to be in. If you have even a moderately successful heritage endeavor, contact a local cultural heritage lawyer and speak to them. Even if it is for legal needs other than as it relates to heritage, get the face time in with a heritage lawyer. This will ensure that you keep cultural heritage at the forefront of your legal strategy.
I have had many clients who do precisely this and they gain the insight to help them better plan their legal and non-legal strategies to better support their heritage endeavors, while also knowing where to turn when they need legal advice.
Patience and persistence will help you to grow not only an understanding of where you are at as it relates to your cultural heritage, but it will also help you to come together as a society to protect and enhance the benefits of our cultural heritage around the world.
Speaking of patience, as this article has run far longer than intended, I will leave you with some addresses of good information that deals with business, law, and heritage. For more information on heritage preservation, you can visit Wikipedia’s page on Cultural Heritage.