Digitizing Indigenous Culture: the Maasai of Laikipya

This collection of press releases, articles, and presentation slides tells the ongoing story of the Maasai of Laikipya and their use of technology to preserve and sustain their cultural heritage starting in 2006 to now. Pilot Project with the Maasai Community WIPO Press Release Geneva, May 20, 2008 PR/2008/553 The […]

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Culture and technology: a study on the 1997 theme

The purpose of this study is to stimulate a reflection on the relationship between culture and technology, and the role of culture in technological development. It also seeks to raise issues pertaining to culture and technology against the background of the World Decade for Cultural Development, which was launched by […]

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Mark Oppenneer, Director of the Ethnos Project

Hello. I am an open source software bricoleur, bread baker, researcher, storyteller, educator, veteran, wordsmith, mythologist, and musician. I am the founder and director of The Ethnos Project, a research initiative that explores the intersection of Indigeneity and information and communication technologies. My research encompasses the cultural impacts and implications […]

Beyond preservation: New directions for technological innovation through intangible cultural heritage

Abstract While many digitization projects are currently underway, to help preserve Indigenous traditions, few explore the full potential of the development of digital media and networked technology through Indigenous cultures. This paper outlines the three phases necessary for a robust digital preservation, promotion and growth project: Straightforward documentation of Indigenous […]

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Time Machine 1997: The Internet and Indigenous Groups

Fourteen years ago, Cultural Survival Quarterly published an issue focused on the Internet and Indigenous groups. The pieces are introduced below with links to the articles in full. It is interesting to see how many of the concerns and issues explored still persist. If you haven’t heard of Cultural Survival, […]

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Expanding the Knowledge Base: Managing Extended Knowledge at the National Museum of the American Indian

Abstract A Native American basketmaker was hired to teach a college class in Indian crafts. Each day she began and ended her class by having her students sing songs she had taught them, until some of the students began to complain that they would never learn basket making at that […]

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Memory Technologies: Indigenous Knowledge and ICT Design

As Indigenous communities endeavor to maintain their traditional ways of knowing, many are turning to information and communication technologies (ICTs) to sustain and stimulate their Indigenous knowledge. They are using analog and digital video and audio recording devices as well as a constellation of computer and Internet-related technologies, to capture, […]

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