Inuit-developed app shares valuable traditional knowledge
Boozhoo News River readers,
This week, we read about SIKU, an Inuit-developed app allowing northern communities to pull together traditional knowledge and scientific data to track environmental changes, manage wild foods and wildlife, and most importantly, control how information is shared.
Here are some more fast facts about SIKU.
- The app operates in multiple languages, including Inuktitut, Cree, Innu, and Greenlandic.
- In 2024, over 25,000 people from over 120 communities have made more than 75,000 posts on SIKU.
- Hunters and harvesters can use GPS to track routes, geolocate posts, and track hazards in the rapidly changing sea ice.
Learn more about the app on the SIKU website.
#DataBack This Week
We quoted Ray Taken Alive in our eBook on Indigenous Data Sovereignty - and we think says a lot about the practical application of #DataBack in language revitalization, data collection, and more. But who is Ray, exactly?
He’s a Lakota language teacher who worked to protect traditional knowledge from a nonprofit which spent years gathering recordings from elders – then copyrighted it and began selling it in the form of textbooks.
To learn more about his work, check out the Lakota Language Reclamation Project website, or follow Ray on “X”.
In other #DataBack news:
Folks from the prairies and beyond should know about the upcoming FSIN Pathways to Affirming Data Sovereignty in First Nations event at the Dakota Dunes Resort on Whitecap Dakota First Nation in Saskatchewan. Check out this post on “X” for more information.
Did you enjoy last week’s Atmos article on Indigenous Data Sovereignty? Ready some heavier reading? The Lowitja Institute in Australia recently published Taking Care of Our Data, a Discussion Paper on Indigenous Data Governance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People and Communities.
This institute is named for Dr Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE DSG, a Yankunytjatjara woman who was the first Indigenous nurse in Australia, and spent the rest of her life working to improve the health, rights, and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples in Australia. Lowitja passed away on February 4, 2024.
Animikii: Out and About
Animikii CEO Jeff Ward spoke on the Indigenous Tech CEO’s roundtable at Tech Futures: Empowering the Indigenous Leaders of Tomorrow last week. Here’s our LinkedIn post sharing a summary of the experience. What this event was about: Sharing opportunities in technology and entrepreneurship with Indigenous students and recent graduates.
Stay tuned for the next event: Plan ahead for your next industry event by keeping an eye on the News River every week.
We’re grateful to have our headquarters on traditional territory of the Lək̓ʷəŋən (Lkwungen, Songhees and Esquimalt) Peoples of the Coast Salish Nation.
Animikii Inc: theDock Centre for Social Impact 100-722 Cormorant St Victoria, BC V8W 1P8
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