Indigenous Digital Storytelling: Digital Interfaces Supporting Cultural Heritage Preservation and Access

Abstract

This paper reports on an examination and analysis of digital storytelling interface features and functionalities within a select number of Indigenous digital libraries and archives in order to support and inform the participatory and culturally-informed design and development of a digital storytelling system for the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (ISR) in Canada's Western Arctic region. This paper provides an introduction to digital storytelling and the use of digital media in Indigenous communities to preserve oral traditions and stories in digital archives. It also presents participatory and inclusive design ideas and examples from Canada, US, and Australia to demonstrate and emphasize the importance of community engagement and community-based archiving for cultural heritage preservation and access.

Design, content validity, and inter-observer reliability of the ‘Digitization of Cultural Heritage, Identities, and Education’ (DICHIE) instrument

“…The importance of inter-professional collaboration lies in the cocreative possibilities of cultural contents through digital culture and their appraisal, conservation, and promotion (Bonacini, 2018;Shiri et al, 2021). Along these lines, both the validity and the reliability results analyzed in the present study informed us of the pertinence of questions relating to the need for designs that are specifically oriented towards public-centered cultural experiences for qualitative learning of cultural heritage (Leow and Ch'ng, 2021), including gamified digital spaces (Bonacini and Giaccone, 2021).…”

Connecting Past to Present: Enacting Indigenous Data Governance Principles in Westbank First Nation’s Archaeology and Digital Heritage

“…In effect, digital circulation has served to further “decontextualize and reappropriate” images of Indigenous peoples. Importantly, Guiliano and Heitman ( 2019 :13) observe that digital humanities scholars remain separate from Indigenous communities, scholars and scholarship, and this situation impacts upon capacity building and development of digital method and practice that prioritizes Indigenous data governance of digital heritage (Pohawpatchoko et al 2017 ; Grey and Kuokkanen 2020 ; Shiri et al 2021 ).…”

Representational work and ‘reverse order’ essentialism: Digitisation of local information in Thailand and Bhabha’s Third Space

“…The systems incorporate, in various combinations: cultural protocols; situated, holistic, ecological, and local connections; oral/narrative formats; multivocal, interactive, and dynamic features; and multilingual representations, as illustrated below. Shiri et al's (2021) description of the Inuvialuit Voices, a community-based digital library/archive project in Canada, emphasises digital storytelling and digital media for preserving oral traditions, stories, and language. Digital storytelling is here seen as an important tool for 'real' participation and empowerment of Indigenous groups in archival processes as: '.…”

“…Many researchers also argue that these needs and concerns are – or at least should be – within the competences and mandates of library and archive institutions (e.g. Brown and Nicholas, 2012; Maina, 2012; Ridgeway and Guntarik, 2017; Shiri et al, 2021). Influential library associations concur, and Maina (2012: 16–17) highlights that the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA, 2010) is urging libraries to get involved in traditional knowledge issues and that the American Library Association (ALA, 2010) acknowledges ‘traditional cultural expressions’ as playing ‘.…”

“…Issues of participation and control, ICT design for dynamic interaction and contextual/holistic representations, and language related considerations are central to strives towards such culturally ‘responsive and responsible’ digitisation (e.g. Brown and Nicholas, 2012; Maina, 2012; Ridgeway and Guntarik, 2017; Shiri et al, 2021). But what is more, these challenges should also in many cases be understood in light of how one or several ILK cultures are represented within larger, national, contexts; subordinated a dominant culture that, intentionally or unintentionally, may cause additional misrepresentation, discrimination and exclusion of these marginalised cultures.…”