This session will report on a workshop given through KSU’s Tribal TAB Program and the Seminole Tribe’s Native Learning Center in which Google products (My Maps & Google Earth) were used by participants to map basic elements of their tribe’s brownfield and resource inventories and asset mapping, modified by consideration of traditional ecological knowledge. We will explain how these modern (free) GIS tools, which are generally available, easy to use, and capable of keeping data confidential, give tribes the ability to influence public projects that affect them and create planning tools that can incorporate tribal values and goals in standard agency procedures. In that regard we will offer some agency definitions of TEK and how it applies in various circumstances that involve EPA, OLEM, HUD, USDA and Interior. We will present at least one case study used by the workshop and refer viewers to the event’s website, where the exercises are explained, along with reference material for further study.
The maps below were created by Mark Junker and provide examples of different ways to share culturally significant information. Map layers of this type can be added to more typical GIS layers used in planning for housing, economic redevelopment, and environmental impact assessment and remediation.
If you click the icon in the upper left corner you will see the legend; click the icon in the upper right corner to expand the map; use the + and - icons in the lower left to navigate.
You can watch "How to Use TEK in the federal NEPA decision-making process" on this YouTube. The slides are found below, as well as a short compilation of some federal agency policies towards traditional ecological knowledge.
You can explore these examples for ideas on how to incorporate cultural and environmental knowledge in your maps
Trail of Tears Cherokee Northern Route
Gallery of My Maps used for ethnographic mapping
Inuit Heritage Trust - Inuit Place Names
Joseph Erb's Cherokee Water Map
Michaela Shirley's Navajo Education Map
Surui Cultural Map in Google Earth - case study video
In this activity we will explore ways to engage your community in online activities that will generate discussions around places of importance to the community. We will begin by creating a Google Jamboard, which community members can contribute to without having to sign in or create a Google Account. Jamboards are an easy way to mimic community gatherings, allowing participants to use sticky notes, freehand drawing and text to make comments.
Use the slides below to create a Jamboard. Share your Jamboard with a colleague by sending them a link in edit mode, and ask them to describe places of significance. If you are signed into a Google Account you will be able to upload photos.
The second part of this activity is to visit the places of significance using a Google Map. The slides below show you how to view a place in Street View and 3D View. You can take a screenshot of the Google Map in Street View and 3D View to add to your Jamboard.
An example of a Jamboard created during the Native Learning Center workshop is linked below.
Above is a fully functional Google Map set to a location and view. You can expand it to view a larger map, use the + and - icons to zoom in and out, and change to a street map view. You can also use it to get directions to the location.
In this activity you will create a Google Form that asks for information about places of importance to community members. You will then send the form to a colleague and obtain a Google Spreadsheet of responses. The response sheet will be used to create a Google My Map. Examples are provided below.
Use the slides to the right for instructions.
This is a print out of the Google Form used during the NLC workshop. Notice that there are separate questions for street address, city and state, to make sure that participants give complete location data for each place of interest.
Below is the Google Spreadsheet that received the responses from the form and then used to create the map below.
We will now use Google My Maps to build a map for our communities. If we were conducting an interview, we would ask questions and add content directly to the map while the interviewee answers (you may wish to have one person ask questions, a second to find the locations and drop pins, and a third person to type the answers).
Use the slides and links below to do this activity.
Begin by going to Google Drive and Create a My Maps. Switch to Satellite View.
Now you are ready to add points, lines and polygons, as well as text, photos and videos to your layer. If you accidentally add content to the wrong layer you can drag and drop it to the correct layer. There is a slide presentation below with step-by-step directions for creating and using Google My Maps.
For your map today we would like you to add content to your layer that addresses the following:
Add three important resources for your community to the map. You can use points, lines or polygons:
Adding a point - There are two ways to do this:
Find the place you want to mark on the map (pan and zoom). Click the placemark button (under the Search bar), then click the map where you want to add the marker. Add a title (place name) and description (what is this place?), then click "Save".
Search for the place in the search bar by name, address or lat long. Click on the correct search result, then in the pop up that appears click "+Add to map". In the pop up that appears, the title (place name) has already been filled out by the search results, but you need to add a description (what is this place?). To do this, click the pencil icon in the pop up to make the point editable, then type in the description. Click "Save".
Adding a line. Click the "Draw a line" button under the search bar and select "Add a line or shape" from the drop down box. Click on the map to draw your line. Double-click the end point to end your line. Then add a title and description and click "Save".
Adding a polygon / shape. Click the "Draw a line" button under the search bar and select "Add a line or shape" from the drop down box. Click on the map to draw your line. Finish by clicking on the first point to end the polygon drawing. Then add a title and description and click "Save".
Give each resource a title and description.
Add photos and videos.
Click on the camera icon below the description box. Images (and videos) will be added as a slideshow. There are two ways to add images:
Search for an image (or YouTube)
Upload an image from your own files
To add more images (or YouTubes) click on the + button below the images.
Change the style of your icon, line or polygon.
Change your icon style. Hover over a placemark and click the paint bucket that appears. Then click "More icons". Choose an icon and click "OK". Then color the icon by selecting from the color palette.
Change your line or polygon style. Hover over a line or polygon and click the paint bucket that appears. Select a new color from the color palette and move the width slider to see the width of the line or border change.
Below is an example from our Native Learning Center live event