The Stz’uminus Storied Places Project: A Community-Based Digital Mapping Project to Mobilize Indigenous Place Names and Place-based Stories

Abstract

Many layers of knowledge are embedded within Indigenous-language place names, including, but not limited to, the physical appearance of the environment, resource procurement, cultural identity, history and place-based stories. In the face of the increasingly prevalent reality that Elders are passing away and taking with them a wealth of knowledge, it is crucial that Indigenous place names and the stories associated with them are documented and passed to younger generations. The Stz’uminus Storied Places Project aims to mobilize place-based knowledge about Stz’uminus traditional territory through a community-based research process, where youth meet with Elders and film their place-based stories, as well as a video-embedded digital map. The interactive digital map, with its ability to embed layers of multi-media, attempts to document and communicate an integrated representation Indigenous perspectives of named places.