Canadian First Nations take environmental view of Google Earth mapping. Google Earth may soon extend it global gaze to some of the most remote First Nations territories in Canada. Google employees will be teaching members from about 70 First Nations across the country how to chart their land on the application during a four-day Indigenous Mapping Workshop at the University of Victoria that starts Monday. There will be two days of lectures followed by two days of hands-on training, with the goal of getting attendees to draw out their territories. The Firelight Group, which is hosting the event, expects the maps created during the project will be private, though First Nations may upload data online if they want to make it public. Steven DeRoy, a director with the association, said the course will allow aboriginal groups to chart multiple items on their land and compare their relationships. He noted that interactions between wildlife, community, and water are just a few examples of the many things that can be represented on an electronic map, which he added, are also easier to use than traditional maps. “Historically people would have had to look at paper maps and pull out another map if they wanted to see another layer and then pull out another map if they wanted to see another theme,” DeRoy said. But electronic mapping technology allows people to look at several things at once. Some First Nations are already well-versed in e-mapping, but DeRoy said many others are not due to a lack of resources and training. Electronic mapping applications can cost thousands of dollars, making them unaffordable to many, however, the workshop hopes to make the technology more accessible by teaching people how to use Google Earth, which is free. metronews.ca/news/victoria/1135308/first-nations-to-map-territories-on-google-earth/
Posted on: Mon, 25 Aug 2014 18:08:41 +0000
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