The 2008 conference organized by the University of Pennsylvania Museum and MACHI brought together indigenous leaders from around the Americas and Hawai'i to discuss issues of cultural heritage and conservation. Thirteen community activists and leaders represented twelve different indigenous nations from nine countries. During the five days of workshops, simultaneous translation in Spanish and English allowed people from around the Hemisphere to communicate easily. Topics discussed by the particpants included defining the meaning of cultural heritage, discussing the commodification of heritage and tourism, and interacting with the state and other interest groups in the management and interpretation of heritage.

At the meeting's end, participants decided that they would like to continue the conversation about the relationship between indigenous people and cultural heritage. All were enthused to find commonalities in the postcolonaial experience of their communities and felt a deep sense of kinship. In the upcoming months, MACHI and the University of Pennsylvania Museum will continue to work with these leaders to facilitate forums for them to discuss the state of ancestral and living cultural heritage in their homelands. A new website will be created to service communication and will include a blog with simultaneous translation. All of the participants were interested in organizing a second conference in the upcoming two years to further discuss these issues.