The Rematriation Project: A Partnership to Develop Sustainable Community Archives
Kotzebue, Alaska is a rural Iñupiat coastal community located above the Arctic Circle that serves as a central location for ten surrounding villages. This region is currently facing the devastating effects of rapidly accelerating climate change. This session will discuss a project/partnership between an Inuit-led community organization in Kotzebue and University academic department/libraries. The project aims to create capacity for and access to digital archives related to Inuit cultural, tribal, and scientific knowledges and history to assist tribes and communities in developing localized, culturally appropriate approaches and solutions to their needs.
Speakers
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Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq
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Chris LindgrenAssistant Professor of Technical Communication, Virginia TechHe/Him
Chris A. Lindgren is an Assistant Professor of Technical Communication at Virginia Tech and Chair of the SIG on the Writing and Rhetoric of Code. His research develops critical thinking and approaches to coding and computation, data, and accessible web content strategies. On the Rematriation Project, he has been developing a tool for Native Alaskan communities to decide the best archival software for their needs, as well as design a curriculum for their self-determined data literacies and archival practices. Adjacently, he has been developing a critical methodology for data practitioners to understand the rhetoric of their quantitative data work. -
Corina Qaaġraq KramerDirector of Operations, Robert Aqqaluk Newlin Sr. Memorial TrustShe
Corina Qaaġraq Kramer is Iñupiaq Inuit living in Kotzebue, Alaska. She is the Director of Operations for Aqqaluk Trust overseeing Iñupiaq language, culture, well-being, and cultural youth camp efforts for the Northwest Alaska region. Qaaġraq comes to us with a background in program development and project management, with prioritization in the integration of Iñupiat Iḷitqusiat value system into western business, education, and health practices. She works with Siamit/Harvard as a community director and faculty. She has produced various media projects focused on guiding the native people of rural Alaska to live a healthy life and helping outside partners understand how to have cultural humility in indigenous communities. Corina is passionate about finding restoration through knowledge, and believes that reviving culture, language, and Inuit well-being will be key in producing healthy families and communities among her people. -
Erin YunesCLIR Postdoctoral Fellow, Virginia TechShe/Her
Erin Yunes is the CLIR Postdoctoral Fellow in Community Data for the Rematriation Project: Restoring & Sharing Inuit Knowledges in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Erin holds a PhD in Visual Culture & Art History from York University in Toronto, ON, Canada, where her research focused on the ways in which Indigenous-first, community-owned information and communication technologies in Nunavut, Canada can strengthen Inuit autonomy in the arts economy. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of New Hampshire, her M.S. in Arts Administration from Boston University, and a Graduate Certificate in International Relations from Boston University, Brussels. With her interdisciplinary background, Erin’s research interests revolve around broadband equality and equitable access to digital cultural resources. -
Kara LongCoordinator, Metadata Technologies, Virginia TechShe/Her
She is currently the Coordinator of Metadata Technologies in the Data Services department in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech, where she provides metadata consultations, training, and development for library users. She brings a background in cataloging and digital collections to her work on the Rematriation Project team. Her current research is focused on collaborative, community-based approaches to knowledge preservation and information heritage. She is committed to finding ways communities can use technology to ensure fair and inclusive knowledge sharing, fostering meaningful connections.