PRESS RELEASE: Indigenous Mapping Network and Google Earth Outreach Co-Host a Successful Indigenous Mapping Event
Last Updated on Monday, 15 March 2010 13:45 Written by Laura Harjo
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rosemarie McKeon
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Indigenous Mapping Network and Google Earth Outreach Co-Host a Successful Indigenous Mapping Event
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA, March 15, 2010- Individuals working on indigenous peoples’ issues converged on the Google headquarters in Mountain View, CA, February 25-26, 2010, for a two day training, hosted by Indigenous Mapping Network and Google. "I am very happy to be here. This is a sacred gathering, this is a ceremony--anytime indigenous people come together in one place it is a ceremony” said Lisa Lone Fight, Mandan Hidatsa and Arikara Nation tribal member and Director for the Wind River Native Science Field Center, capturing the importance of the event. The training focused on using cell phone based geographic data collection, Google Maps and Google Earth.
Training sessions were organized by theme; Community Track, GIS and Technical Track and focused on using Google Earth, Google Earth Pro and Google Earth Enterprise. On the second day, training was grouped into even narrower foci: Community and Earth Track, Programming Track and GIS Track and Open Data Kit Track. Android cell phones were integrated into the training with an outdoor session involving GPS data collection on the Google campus. Participants used the phones and Open Data Kit software to capture points and populate a database with their descriptions.
On both days participants presented their current projects. "Contested territory" was one of the main issues among the workshop participants. “It makes a lot of sense that so many Indigenous people want mapping training, since many of them are addressing land issues”, said Darlene Jenkins, Navajo Nation tribal member and IMN Board Member. The projects also addressed language preservation, traditional knowledge—song, and stories—policy issues, land tenure, resource management, planning, and master plans.
Beyond the formalities of the training there was a cultural exchange. Reflecting the importance of indigenous cultural practice, participants brought gifts from their homelands and IMN conducted a giveaway of the items.
The event's agenda with links
to curriculum and slides can be found at:
http://indigenousmapping.net/
http://sites.google.com/site/
A new online forum has been created in response to several requests by participants and interested parties. It can be found at http://bit.ly/bDMGUT
