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Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age

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A special issue of ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (ISSN 2220-9964).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2021) | Viewed by 33837

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. D. R. Fraser Taylor

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Guest Editor

Chancellor's Distinguished Research Professor of International Affairs, Geography and Environmental Studies, Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
Interests: cartography; cybercartography; geospatial information processing; geospatial information management; legal and ethical issues; traditional and local knowledge; Indigenous knowledge; community involvement; participatory approaches; human computer interaction; applications in developing nations and the arctic

Dr. Romola V. Thumbadoo

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Guest Editor

Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre, Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Drive, Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada
Interests: indigeneity; Indigenous mapping; cartography; cybercartography; geo-cybernetics; geospatial Information; tangible and intangible heritage; decolonization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

I invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of the ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (IJGI) entitled Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age.

Indigenous mapping is speedily entering the domain of cartography, and digital technology is facilitating the engagement of communities, particularly Indigenous ones, in mapping their own locational stories, histories, cultural heritage, environmental, and political priorities. Increasingly, Indigenous knowledge is being acknowledged as a parallel and equal knowledge system, and the (w)holistic nature of Indigenous mapping, incorporating performance, process, product, and positionality, as well as tangible and intangible heritage, is transforming the conceptual parameters of traditional mapping.

Multimodal and multisensory online maps combine the latest multimedia and telecommunications technology to examine data and support qualitative and quantitative research, as well as present and store a wide range of temporal/spatial information and archival materials in innovative interactive storytelling formats. For example, under the leadership of the Geomatics and Cartographic Research Centre at Carleton University, Canada, the emerging domain of Cybercartography (https://gcrc.carleton.ca) involves the integration of theory, practice, technological development, and relationship in the creation of digital atlases. Researchers are also now examining legal and ethical issues, data sharing, and standards issues concerning what is described as traditional, informal, or community knowledge. There are many ground-breaking mapping initiatives underway with Indigenous peoples across the globe.

This Special Issue will explore Indigenous engagement with geo-information in contemporary cartography.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

Mapping Indigenous physical, cultural, and heritage spaces;
Mapping place names;
Language mapping;
Mapping historical issues;
Mapping celestial knowledge;
Mapping ecological/environmental projects;
Mapping climate change;
Mapping social justice issues;
Mapping tangible or intangible heritage;
Ethical, legal and standards issues;
Technological approaches to mapping Indigenous knowledge.

Please submit your abstracts for consideration for inclusion in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. D. R. Fraser Taylor
Dr. Romola V. Thumbadoo
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

mapping
Indigenous
digital
cybercartography
storytelling atlas
ethical/legal
cultural heritage
place name mapping
language mapping

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Editorial

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5 pages, 220 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Editorial Commentary on the IJGI Special Issue “Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age”

by Romola V. Thumbadoo and D. R. Fraser Taylor

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2022, 11(7), 363; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi11070363 - 24 Jun 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1354

Abstract

Indigenous mapping is rapidly entering the domain of cartography, and digital technology is facilitating the engagement of communities, particularly Indigenous communities, in order to map their own locational stories, histories, cultural heritage, and environmental and political priorities [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

25 pages, 5307 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping for Awareness of Indigenous Stories

by Stephanie Pyne, Melissa Castron, Annita Parish, Peter Farrell and Shawn Johnston

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2022, 11(5), 292; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi11050292 - 30 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2880

Abstract

Joseph Kerski has identified five converging global trends—geo-awareness, geo-enablement, geotechnologies, citizen science, and storytelling—which contribute to the increased relevance of geography for education and society. While these trends are discussed by Kerski in the context of the proliferating significance of geography in teaching and education, they also provide a useful lens for considering the increasing ubiquity of critical approaches to cartography both in general and in the context of teaching and education, where mapping can include participatory collaborations with individuals from a variety of knowledge communities and extend to the mapping of experiences, emotions, and Indigenous perspectives. In this paper, we consider these trends and related ideas such as Kerski’s “geoliteracy” and metaliteracy in light of some relatively current examples and in light of the evolution of research and teaching linked with a series of interrelated map-based projects and courses that take a multidimensional approach to teaching and learning about the Residential Schools Legacy in Canada. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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15 pages, 3541 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Cybercartographic Atlas of the Sky: Cybercartography, Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Work among the Pa Ipai Indigenous Families from Baja California, Mexico

by Martín Cuitzeo Domínguez Núñez

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2022, 11(3), 167; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi11030167 - 28 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2273

Abstract

In this article, I discuss how sky mapping was carried out among the Pa Ipai peoples from Baja California in Mexico. This mapping was elaborated through an interdisciplinary study that combined cybercartography, ethnography, cultural astronomy, semiotics, and collaborative work. The central argument of the article focuses on how the cybercartographic sky atlas of the Pa Ipai people responded to the situation and social problems of these communities. Some of these problems are extreme poverty, violence, and conflicts with the Mexican state and the academic world. In this context, the atlas and the collaborative work became tools that created links with indigenous families, especially with the young people. The mapping process also helped to resolve the tensions mentioned above. The article also addresses how the economic and political situation in Mexico has an effect on the preservation of the atlas. Some of the results of this work are that the Pai Ipai atlas allows, conserves, and renews songs, stories, and experiences around heaven. Another remarkable result is that the teenagers have positively received the atlas and the collaborative experience derived from it. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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11 pages, 28280 KiB

Open AccessArticle

(Of) Indigenous Maps in the Amazon: For a Decolonial Cartography

by Thiara Vichiato Breda

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2022, 11(3), 161; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi11030161 - 23 Feb 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2497

Abstract

There are mappings of indigenous lands, mappings with indigenous participation, and mappings made by indigenous people, all of them resulting from cartographic intentions, mapping motives, and distinct meanings of spatiality. Starting from the questioning around the drives of the subject towards his search for knowledge of the space and its mapping, this article seeks to both identify the key points that these three types of mapping typically resemble and intersect, as well as to distinguish and debate them while highlighting maps made by indigenous people. This approach is based on interpretations of Mebêngôkre (Kayapó) and A’uwe (Xavante) mappings, seeking to understand them as a device of spatial organizations and representations. In doing so, we (re)position indigenous peoples as cartographer subjects who possess and produce cartographic/geographic knowledge while we question the Eurocentric legacy, expressed in an exclusivity of official/academic cartography. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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18 pages, 25272 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Traditional Communities and Mental Maps: Dialogues between Local Knowledge and Cartography from the Socioenvironmental Atlas of Lençóis Maranhenses, Brazil

by Benedito Souza Filho, Reinaldo Paul Pérez Machado, Kumiko Murasugi and Ulisses Denache Vieira Souza

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(11), 755; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10110755 - 09 Nov 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2249

Abstract

The Lençóis Maranhenses region, located in the state of Maranhão in northeastern Brazil, constitutes an area that includes a national park and presents extreme physical, geographic and climatic contrasts in addition to economic diversity and emerging tourism. Scattered throughout this portion of the Brazilian territory are local inhabitants whose traditional lifestyles are characterized by agricultural, extractive, fishing and animal husbandry activities. These local residents use guidance systems and mental maps developed through their long history, interaction with nature, and knowledge of the environment in which they live and work. Based on sketches prepared by residents and by Health Agents serving the communities, and with the support of cartographic-based materials produced by the team of the Socioenvironmental Atlas of Lençóis Maranhenses (ASALM, Portuguese abbreviation for Socioenvironmental Atlas of Lençóis Maranhenses), we present a set of digital and interactive cartographic materials that reproduce the movements, uses and practices of the families of these communities as well as the environmental dynamics of this vast region. Such cartography can serve as an instrument of planning, understanding and action, both to safeguard the rights of the local residents and for the handling and management of natural resources. Based on the dialogue between local knowledge and cartography, we present the methods, processes and results of our research project. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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19 pages, 6577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping Inuinnaqtun: The Role of Digital Technology in the Revival of Traditional Inuit Knowledge Ecosystems

by Brendan Griebel and Darren Keith

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(11), 749; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10110749 - 05 Nov 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3637

Abstract

The term Inuinnaqtun is often used in reference to a dialect of Inuktut spoken by Inuinnait (Copper Inuit) of the Central Canadian Arctic. The broader meaning of Inuinnaqtun, however, is to speak, to create, to practice, to do, to think, to be, like an Inuinnaq (a human being). Inuinnaqtun was once its own robust ecosystem, with Inuinnait physically immersed in a landscape and way of life that nourished a fluent and full language, supported human relationships, and maintained a sophisticated body of cultural knowledge. The Inuinnait journey into the 21st century has challenged the practice of Inuinnaqtun, along with the connectivity of its ecosystem. How can an integrated Inuinnaqtun ecosystem be restored in contemporary Inuinnait society? In this paper, we outline the decade-long development of a digital mapping program to document traditional forms of engagement between Inuinnait people, language and land, and facilitate the continued circulation of knowledge that underlies these relationships. In reviewing its various successes and challenges, we critically question digital technology’s ability to digitally represent Inuinnaqtun ontology, in addition to the role that digital technologies can play in facilitating the local relocation of knowledge, objects and relationships dispersed into global contexts. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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13 pages, 2901 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Art and Argument: Indigitization of a Kiowa Historical Map for Teaching and Research

by Mark H. Palmer, Sarah Frost, Grace Martinez and Lasya Venigalla

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(11), 746; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10110746 - 03 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2113

Abstract

How might we teach undergraduate students about Indigenous geographies using historical maps? This paper describes processes associated with the bridging of a historical Kiowa map with computerized geographic information systems (GIS) and undergraduate geography curriculum. The authors applied an indigital framework as an approach for melding Indigenous and Western knowledge systems into a third kind of construct for teaching undergraduate students about historical/contemporary spatial issues. Indigital is the blending of Indigenous knowledge systems, such as storytelling, language, calendar keeping, dance, and songs, with computerized systems. We present an origin story about the indigitization of a historical Kiowa pictorial map, known as the Chál-ko-gái map, at the University of Missouri, USA. Undergraduate student engagement with the map resulted in new questions about Indigenous geographies, particularly map projections, place names, and the meaning of Kiowa symbols. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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14 pages, 4813 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Importance of Indigenous Cartography and Toponymy to Historical Land Tenure and Contributions to Euro/American/Canadian Cartography

by Daniel G. Cole and E. Richard Hart

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(6), 397; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10060397 - 08 Jun 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3917

Abstract

Indigenous maps are critical in understanding the historic and current land tenure of Indigenous groups. Furthermore, Indigenous claims to land can be seen in their connections via toponymy. European concepts of territory and political boundaries did not coincide with First Nation/American Indian views, resulting in the mistaken view that Natives did not have formal concepts of their territories. And Tribes/First Nations with cross-border territory have special jurisdictional problems. This paper illustrates how many Native residents were very spatially aware of their own lands, as well as neighboring nations’ lands, overlaps between groups, hunting territories, populations, and trade networks. Finally, the Sinixt First Nation serve as a perfect example of a case study on how an Aboriginal people are currently inputting and using a GIS representation of their territory with proper toponymy and use areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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19 pages, 5013 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Participatory Mapping as a Didactic and Auxiliary Tool for Learning Community Integration, Technology Transference, and Natural Resource Management

by Ricardo Eaton-González, Jorge Andrade-Sánchez, Tatiana Montaño-Soto, Paola Andrade-Tafoya, Diana Brito-Jaime, Krystal González-Estupiñán, Andrea Guía-Ramírez, Jesús Rodríguez-Canseco, Argelia Teon-Vega and Silvia Balderas-López

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(4), 206; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10040206 - 01 Apr 2021

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2154

Abstract

Participatory mapping is a tool for community work linked to natural resource management. It is an auxiliary for diagnosis and data acquisition from communities and their natural resources. In Baja California, there are several indigenous communities, some close to urban areas but still unknown to most people in cities as well as visitors. These communities are fighting to restore and maintain their language, tradition, territory, biological, and cultural diversity. This work was carried out by linking members of the indigenous community of San Jose de la Zorra with bachelor’s and graduate degree students, to obtain information on the biological, cultural, and economic activities of the community through participatory mapping. The learning experience was significant for all participants; although it was not the intention in this study, students had the unique opportunity to exchange information and learn culture and biodiversity from indigenous people. The indigenous community was involved in field data acquisition and the use of some information and communication technology resources developed for this approach, and used it for natural resource management and decision making. The main results of this experience were wide format printed maps that were placed on several sites inside and outside the community, digital mapping that gave information about natural, cultural, and economic resources of the community for local and foreign visitors, and technology transference to solve problems identified by the community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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24 pages, 7126 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Automated Mapping of Historical Native American Land Allotments at the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation Using Geographic Information Systems

by Joshua Jerome Meisel, Stephen L. Egbert, Joseph P. Brewer II and Xingong Li

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(3), 183; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10030183 - 20 Mar 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 4423

Abstract

The General Allotment Act of 1887, also known as the Dawes Act, established the legal basis for the United States government to break up remaining tribally-owned reservation lands in the U.S. by allotting individual parcels to tribal members and selling the remaining “surplus.” This research explores the processes involved in mapping these historical allotments and describes a method to automatically generate spatial data of allotments. A custom geographic information systems (GIS) tool was created that takes tabular based allotment land descriptions and digital Public Land Survey (PLSS) databases to automatically generate spatial and attribute data of those land parcels. The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota was used as the initial study area to test the mapping technique, which resulted in successfully auto-mapping over 99.1% of allotted lands on the reservation, including the smallest aliquot parcels. This GIS technique can be used to map any tribal lands or reservation with allotment data available, and currently it can be used to map over 120 individual reservations using publicly available data from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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20 pages, 5630 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Indigenous Mapping for Integrating Traditional Knowledge to Enhance Community-Based Vegetation Management and Conservation: The Kumeyaay Basket Weavers of San José de la Zorra, México

by Jorge Andrade-Sánchez, Ricardo Eaton-Gonzalez, Claudia Leyva-Aguilera and Michael Wilken-Robertson

ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf. 2021, 10(3), 124; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ijgi10030124 - 01 Mar 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3144

Abstract

Kumeyaay people were historically hunter-gatherers with a strong relationship with their natural resources. Due to various processes, such as missionary colonization, agrarian reform, and the definition of the border between the USA and Mexico in 1838, the Indigenous populations faced reduced mobility within their territory and modified their lifestyles, highly related to landscape and plants. One of their strong traditional practices associated with plant resources, basket-making, has likewise changed. Today, this activity is one of the most important sources of income for many of the families in the community. Nevertheless, this is being now threatened by the loss of vegetation cover, from which they obtain primary basket-making material and is now far from being environmentally and economically sustainable. An interdisciplinary group is addressing this problem from a multidisciplinary perspective and through a participatory methodological approach based on community mapping to enable the integration of local and scientific knowledge and to create vegetation management and conservation actions. Community-based Indigenous mapping has proven to be a powerful tool for the integration of traditional knowledge and its various dimensions, and knowledge integration between traditional and scientific knowledge has been successful. The project allowed for plant population analysis and adequate decision-making regarding natural resources management and conservation. The methods developed in this research represent significant progress in the development of internal capacities and empowerment of the community. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mapping Indigenous Knowledge in the Digital Age)

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