This Week in Native American News (8/30/19): internet surveys and tourism apps
August 30, 2019
Studying the Native American and Alaska Native population with internet surveys
In estimating public opinion, opt-in internet surveys give researchers and pollsters a unique opportunity to isolate specific tribal members across the US compared to national surveys conducted by landlines say Ben Pryor and James A. Davis
(Photo: Mabel Amber)
In political science, national surveys are considered the “gold standard” for estimating public opinion. Unfortunately, however, these national surveys are not ideal for measuring the opinions of certain groups in the US. This is because of some challenges associated with drawing a sufficient number of respondents from probability samples. As a result, some of the most vulnerable members of the population can be underrepresented or left out of the national discussion entirely. In 2018, for example, just 1.3 percent of the population self-identified as exclusively Native American or Alaska Native.
Our new American Indian Quarterly article, with co-authors Rebekah Herrick and Jeanette Morehouse Mendez, examines a potential method to resolve this problem. To go about this, we surveyed one of the most underrepresented groups in the US – Native Americans and Alaska Natives – with what’s known as an opt-in internet survey.
Read the full story here
At-Risk Indigenous Languages Spotlighted on New Google Earth Platform
Speakers featured in the Celebrating Indigenous Languages project. (Google Earth)
Indigenous peoples speak more than 4,000 of the world’s 7,000-odd languages. These native tongues function as so much more than a means of communication; they encode community histories, traditions, ways of thinking, environmental knowledge. And unfortunately, many Indigenous languages are at risk of disappearing.
In an effort to both preserve and raise awareness about these languages, Google Earth has launched an interactive platform on its Voyager feature that lets users listen to audio recordings by more than 50 Indigenous language speakers from across the globe. Titled Celebrating Indigenous Languages, the project spotlights diverse communities and profiles pioneering activists who are fighting to preserve their ancestral languages.
Read the Full Story Here
-BUT- Not everyone thinks this is the right way to help these languages
Google Earth project about Indigenous languages feels like 'tourism,' scholar says
Jennifer Wemigwans said the digital map, which allows users to click and hear more than 50 Indigenous language speakers, did not go far enough and big tech companies could do a lot more to save endangered languages.
"It was very short. It was, you know, kind of like: 'Who are you, and can you tell us what this language is, and [sing] a song.' And that was it," said Wemigwans, an assistant professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto.
And Speaking of Online Tourism…
New tour app seeks to correct the Native American narrative in the nation’s capital
Snapshot after snapshot of D.C. tells the country's history, and stories of indigenous ancestors are hiding in plain sight among them.
The AT&T Center for Indigenous Politics and Policy developed an app to show users where they are.
It showcases 17 sites important to the Native American story.
Never-before-seen Native American artifacts to go on display
Also going on display will be a bag, known as quillwork, that was used by a Native American soldier. The bag is decorated with Iroquois symbols and is believed to have been used for carrying musket supply "or other battlefield necessities." (Credit: Fort Ticonderoga)
Never-before-seen artifacts from 18th-century Native American culture that tell the story between the First Nations and the Europeans and how "they fought against and alongside" are set to go on display at Fort Ticonderoga in New York.
"Considered the most significant private collection of 18th century militaria," the exhibit includes a number of items, notably a wood and iron club, which was used as a weapon and symbol of war believed to date to the 1770s, a spokesperson told Fox News.
Read the Full Story Here
It’s hard to fit all the news in a little space.
To read all of this week's news, visit the LIM Magazine.
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