This research focuses on Indonesia’s submission of noken, a Papuan multifunctional knotted or woven bag, to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Since its inscription in 2012, noken has increasingly featured in international diplomacy and has been incorporated into several internal development programmes. With reference to Indonesia’s historic engagement with UNESCO and the policies of cultural development pioneered under the New Order, this research explores how identity formation has influenced contemporary cultural and heritage policy in West Papua. Building from the emerging body of work focussed on the efficacy of UNESCO’s engagement with indigenous stakeholders, this project looks at how noken’s inscription has been used to support Indonesian territorial integrity in the context of the ongoing West Papuan independence movement.  In doing so, this work aims to highlight the at times contradictory outcomes that UNESCO heritage recognition presents for indigenous communities facing displacement from the impacts of settler colonialism.