Arctic GIS Workshop Poster Abstract

22-24 January 2001
Bell Harbor International Conference Center
Seattle, Washington

Southeast Alaska Native Place Names as Containers of Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Thomas F. Thornton
Global Studies, St. Lawrence University, 82 Park, Canton, NY 13617, Phone: 315/229-5665, tthornton@stlawu.edu

This multimedia demonstration will feature two sample cultural atlases on CD-ROM produced through cooperative projects between the Southeast Native Subsistence Commission and the Angoon and Kake Tlingit tribes under a grant from National Park Service. The atlas document Native place names and their ecological and cultural associations. Indigenous place names are valuable linguistic artifacts containing a wealth of cultural and environmental information about Southeast Alaska's lands and waters. In addition to referencing important subsistence and cultural sites, place names serve as potent symbols, signifying personal and social ties to the landscape and evoking powerful mental and emotional associations. Unfortunately, relatively few Native names appear on modern maps, although many are still known by Native elders. Through these projects, local researchers, supported by professional anthropologists and linguists, transcribe, translate, and mapped toponyms and recorded cultural information pertaining to these sites from Native experts in each community. Project results were compiled into a computerized database and GIS maps were produced for each community. These multimedia atlases represent attempts to integrate the GIS name data with other information pertinent to the natural and social history of the Kake and Angoon areas. The ultimate goal is to build in partnership with local communities a Native geographic atlas of Southeast and other regions of Alaska that will contribute to improved understanding and management of the natural and cultural resources of the areas.