The Indigitization Grant Program is a grant funding opportunity sponsored by the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre at the University of British Columbia1, Museum of Anthropology at the University of British Columbia, the University of Northern British Columbia, and the School of Library, Archival, and Information Studies at UBC.
The goal of the Program is to provide financial support to British Columbia Aboriginal communities and organizations for the conversion of audio materials on cassette to uncompressed digital file formats, such as broadcast wave. Another goal is to promote enhanced and appropriate access to these recordings for communities and where possible the broader public.
Previously referred to as the Aboriginal Audio Digitization Program (AADPP), the Indigitization Grant Program developed out of the Indigitization project, which began in 2010 collaboratively between the Irving K. Barber Learning Centre, the First Nations Technology Council, and three First Nations communities: Heiltsuk, Ktunaxa, and ‘Namgis. This pilot project sought to clarify processes and identify issues in the conservation and digitization of Aboriginal community information resources, such as materials to support language revitalization, oral histories, traditional land use interviews, and other materials as identified by participants as having need of digitization and preservation.
The Indigitization pilot project resulted in the creation of the Indigitization toolkit. This resource was created through the joint experience of the partner communities and is also informed by industry standards and sound practices. It serves as a starting point for Aboriginal communities interested in undertaking digitization and preservation projects and is a stepping stone in preserving valuable Aboriginal information, including endangered language resources for future generations.
