Mapping

Indigenous EJ requires us to view environmental impacts through a cultural lens, where places are of central importance to world views. Indigenous communities value specific places, and these places cannot be replaced by utilitarian equivalence; that is to say, if you destroy this particular wetland, you cannot simply build another wetland someplace else as a form of environmental remediation under NEPA and similar processes. This wetland and that wetland are not equivalents, because they have different histories, different cultural meaning and different personal connections to the people of an Indigenous community.

In order to understand the complexities of Environmental Justice in an Indigenous context we must consider that places have meaning and are not substitutable. As a way of exploring this, we will create a map with the locations of places that we consider personally important. We will then explore how to tell a story about our connections to that place, and how we feel about potential threats to our special place from environmental impacts regulated by EPA.

This activity has five parts: fill out the form, edit the map that is created from your responses, tell your classmates about your places, find EPA reported sites near your places, talk with your classmates about what you have discovered.

To begin with, you will need to sign into a Google Account. If you do not have one create one here. This will allow you to edit the Google My Maps. If you need additional help, see the Tips slide presentation at the bottom of the page.

1. Fill out the form below. Your responses will appear on the spreadsheet below - this is public, so be careful not to give out private information like the address of your home (you can use a public location like a park instead). Once you have completed the form (make sure to click on the Submit button) we will import your responses to the Google My Maps, which can be viewed at the top of this page. You will need to refresh your screen periodically to see the updated map.

a. We will import the response spreadsheet to the first layer of the map and ask it to use your first name/nickname and current location to place and name the map markers.

b. We will then import the response spreadsheet to the second layer of the map and this time ask it to use the name and location of your special place to place and name the map markers.

2. Edit the map. Once the information from the form is imported to the two map layers we will edit the map as a group. Please be very respectful and do not alter the map markers of other students. Make sure you are signed into your Google Account so that the map opens in edit mode, then Click here to go to the map.

a. Find your map marker on the first layer (current location) and click on it in the left side panel. Now give yourself a unique custom map marker by clicking on the paint can icon, then click More Icons and Custom Icons (both are at the bottom of the popups). You can use any image that you want, but make sure that it is a simple and clear image because it will be very small (clipart works better than photos). You can use images from the University of Victoria's Ethnographic Mapping Lab icon set if you wish.

b. Find your map marker on the second layer (special place) and click on it to select the correct layer. Now give yourself a unique custom map marker that tells us something about the place.

c. Go to the third layer (labeled "use this layer for lines") and click on the layer, then draw a line between your two markers to connect them. The line tool is under the search bar at the top of the map, and when you hover over it you will see "Draw a line". Double click to end the line. Click on the pencil icon to name your line. Click on the paint can icon to change the color and thickness to make it unique and visible.

3. Share your stories with your classmates. Please be ready to say something about where you are (and many of us are not at KU right now because of the Covid-19 pandemic) and about your special places. Remember, you do not have to share anything personal, you should decide on a story that you feel comfortable sharing.

4. Find EPA reported sites near your places. We will use the EPA EnviroMapper to find information about environmental problems near our special places and/or your current locations (this will only work in the US, we will need to find other data sources if your sites are in other countries).

a. We will choose a site and do a demonstration of how to download a CSV (spreadsheet) file from EnviroMapper, then we will import it into a new layer on the Google My Maps.

b. If time permits, we will add more layers and import EnviroMapper sites for the rest of the US locations.

5. Share your discoveries with your classmates. We will discuss how we perceive the EPA sites near our current locations and our special sites. Do any of these fall within the framework of Environmental Justice? Were you previously aware of the environmental impacts near your current location or your special locations?

Map Examples and Workshops

Additional Google My Maps and Google Earth workshops

University of Victoria Ethnographic Mapping Lab

2019 Indigenous Mapping Workshop Canada