Thread by @OpenGLAM

1/ Hi everyone! Today we’re going to take a bit of time to talk more about protocols, permissions and some Indigenous-led projects and resources relevant to the #GLAM sphere. And we’re going to start talking about #metadata!

2/ As we’ve mentioned, in many Indigenous knowledge systems, a person’s right to access certain information (especially traditional knowledge and customs) may be bound by specific, contextual permissions. #OpenGLAM

3/ Here’s an example relevant to the G in #GLAM: the proceedings from @_FPCC's Cultural Protocols & the Arts Forum in 2014. As the late Dr. Greg Younging said, “Protocols provide guidelines for behaviour.”

fpcc.ca/files/PDF/Arts…

4/ At first, this kind of negotiated #access to knowledge may seem at odds with the Western ideal of boundless #OpenAccess. And yet, the open access movement still has great potential to help mobilize Indigenous knowledge while respecting requisite boundaries. #OpenGLAM

5/ Knowledge that raises awareness of current Indigenous concerns or helps correct/update the historiographical record—to give just two examples—can spread more widely if it is made #OpenAccess.

6/ A common project is to update colonial, racist & offensive language associated w/ the descriptions & #metadata of historical records. 1 example: a re-description project at the #yegarchives as a way to advance #decolonization (c/o Elizabeth Walker)

fondsdarchives.ca/index.php/fond…

7/ The most sustainable #open Indigenous initiatives are always built by and with Indigenous people. Indigenous communities, orgs, and scholars understand the nuances around “#OpenAccess” and guide initiatives into productive, comprehensive directions.

8/ In some cases, the “infrastructure” for #open Indigenous content is already there. Existing open Indigenous resources and content aggregators should be platformed, funded, and updated so that they do not fall into obsolescence or disuse.

9/ For instance, non-profit org Native Land Digital’s @nativelandnet indispensable interactive map of Indigenous territory, language, and treaty visualizations relies on both crowdsourced information and voluntary individual donations.

native-land.ca

10/ Native Land Digital looks to build momentum from the positive feedback the map has received by connecting with Indigenous communities, information professionals, researchers, and educators to help create more types of #open #Indigenous content.

native-land.ca/support/

11/ Little Cree Books, a open access project by illustrator and author Caylie Gnyra, aims to help revitalize Cree languages among early readers.

littlecreebooks.com

12/ A similar project, Indigenous Storybooks, extends Little Cree Books's concept to other Indigenous languages, and encourages interested communities to contribute translations.

indigenousstorybooks.ca/about/language…

13/ While support of these initiatives are critically important to building an #open Indigenous movement, we must also note that a good deal of open Indigenous content—especially historical and scholarly materials—is already held, in some shape or form, in #GLAM institutions.

14/ Info professionals who work in #GLAM institutions should be aware of the ways in which Indigenous representations & expressions of knowledge have been decontextualized or erased by hegemonic cataloging & classification standards.

journal.radicallibrarianship.org/index.php/jour… (@mukurtu, Anderson)

15/ As info professionals work more closely with #OpenAccess Indigenous content, they have the opportunity to improve the metadata for those materials as well. See below from @uofalibraries; also @brettlougheed, @rymoran, @CamilleCallison (2015).

librarytoolshed.ca/content/decolo…

16/ If #metadata that more accurately reflects the essence & aboutness of Indigenous materials is itself #OpenAccess, institutions around the globe will be more likely to discover, adopt, and/or adapt/modify it to work within their local contexts.

17/ These presentations from the #SortingLibrariesOut conference earlier this year are a great place to learn from how other info/cultural workers are handling subject headings and #metadata from #Indigenous perspectives. #decolonization #Indigenization

ocs.lib.sfu.ca/index.php/dcid…

18/ In the end, whether we are working with existing open Indigenous content or building something totally new, we must continuously balance discretion with advocacy. #OpenGLAM