What is cultural mapping and how can it benefit your organisation?
Winyama works in partnership with Indigenous communities to create cultural maps. Cultural mapping is the process of Indigenous placemaking. Indigenous landscapes are alive with local stories, practices, relationships, memories, and rituals that constitute places as meaningful locations. Cultural mapping is increasingly being seen as a useful way for Indigenous communities to communicate effectively the value of place to non-Indigenous stakeholders.
As outlined in UNESCO’s Decade of Indigenous Languages, cultural mapping is one method for focussing a communities attention on the protection of language and the use of language names for Country. Cultural maps focus on visualising intangible cultural expression through mapping stories, songs, and knowledge from Elders and knowledge holders.
In Australia, the Burra charter offers a definition of cultural maps as part of the cultural heritage management and protection regime of indigenous sites. However, at Winyama we use the term 'cultural mapping’ to refer to the products we’ve made over the years, including 3D visualisation of Country and embedding multimedia of Elders, and knowledge holders explaining their cultural heritage linked to place.
One such product is the Ngarluma Ngurra map made in partnership with the Ngarluma community, as an exploration of the intersection between Indigenous culture and 21st-century cartography. Through travels on Country, Ngarluma Elders spoke about wanting to safeguard information and knowledge for the future.
Why is cultural mapping important?
Mapping culture is one way to ensure that cultural heritage management is undertaken by Indigenous people. Some aspects of cultural heritage are ‘intangible’ meaning that knowledge, learnings, cultural practices, and other aspects of culture cannot be physically held or measured by western science, it needs an Indigenous lens to reveal itself. The Australian International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) define intangible cultural heritage as ‘the diversity of cultural practices created by communities and groups of people over time and recognised by them as part of their heritage’. Not only is it important to ensure Indigenous people map their own intangible culture for record keeping and education of younger generations and the wider population; it is critical for Indigenous communities to have access to training and innovations in mapping tech to continue to adapt the stories of ancestors to new technologies.
Benefits of heritage and cultural mapping with Winyama.
Understanding Cultural Protocols
The main benefit we provide as a company is that we are traditional owners and indigenous cartographers. We understand technology and culture. As Traditional Owners we also have an acute awareness of the complexities of Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property (ICIP). For anyone wishing to undertake cultural mapping we would recommend looking at tool kits such as local contexts, which highlight important tools that support Indigenous protocols communities through the management of intellectual and cultural property, cultural heritage, environmental data, and genetic resources within digital environments.
Data management
Data management provides benefits to organisations through creating digital maps that ensure perpetuity and security of robust databases and systems to manage spatial data and cultural information. Winyama can offer advice to Indigenous organisations such as Native Title bodies, Ranger Groups and Aboriginal Corporations to help guide the configuration and management of data assets.
Cultural preservation
Cultural preservation is focused on the act of using deliberate and well-designed methodologies to maintain digital cultural heritage for the benefit of the present and future generations. This stems from building trust between Traditional Owners, knowledge holders, and their representative Indigenous corporations. This step provides a key component to help streamline cultural preservation and ensures organisations act as cultural data trusts for the benefit of their community.
What technology does Winyama use for cultural mapping?
Not every organisation uses the same technology to conduct mapping practices. What makes Winyama unique is our approach to technology and our commitment to using only the best tools to empower Traditional Owners to make informed decisions about their land.
Winyama offers a range of different types of technology that are used in the process of mapping cultural heritage. Types of mapping technologies that are used include, but are not limited to:
Google Earth
Google Earth provides a level of accuracy which in turn, allows for an accurate digital representation of Country. In 2021, Winyama worked with Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) gain an understanding of the power of google earth to supplement 2D paper maps for cultural heritage consultations.
Skyline TerraExplorer (3D visualisation)
Enterprise level for 3D visualisation. Skyline TerraExplorer offers the ability to build custom 3D globes of Country. This software creates stunningly realistic 3D visualisations by overlaying the elevation models with high-resolution satellite imagery. These globes recreate a virtual landscape that can be navigated by Traditional Owners and can be highly effective in digital consultations and communication with industry on the impacts on people's lands and sea.
Drone-based 3D capture and mapping
Drone mapping is used to map and collect data that is delivered in the form of photo imagery or video footage and can be a low-cost and effective solution for Ranger Groups and Native Title holders to assist with their caring for Country programs. The ability to capture accurate 3D information with photogrammetry or LiDAR technologies that can be deployed on a regional scale has resulted in new ways to map Country. As part of the Pilbara Cultural and Land Management Project, Winyama is assisting ranger groups from the Pilbara learn how to fly drones. These technologies can be deployed to protect vital cultural, archaeological, and environmental resources in traditional countries, or the ability to share experiences of far-away sites with Elders using 3D models.