IA Summit 2017

Diverse Indigenous cultures thrived in British Columbia until assailed by mechanisms of colonization. One element of Indigenous resilience was embedding precious fragments of Community knowledge in magnetic media. These media are increasingly inaccessible due to the deterioration of their physical format.

Funding programs to digitize analog media often come with inappropriate accessibility requirements and taxing reporting. ll-suited "best practices” concerning information management serve as an extra barrier.

The panelists in this session share an awareness that existing information practices are firmly rooted in Western knowledge systems that are not always appropriate when dealing with Indigenous traditional knowledge. This session will add depth and nuance to issues surrounding the digitization of material related to Indigenous community knowledge and provide examples of ways to do this work while challenging institutional norms.