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Welcome, everybody.

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Kimberly Christen-Withey is an Associate[br]Professor and Associate Director

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of the Digital Technology Cultural[br]Program, in the Department of English

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and Director of Digital Projects

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at the Plateau Center[br]for American Indian Studies

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at Washington State University.

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Her work explores the intersections[br]of cultural heritage,

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traditional knowledge,[br]intellectual property rights,

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the ethics of openness,

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and the use of digital technologies[br]in and by indigenous communities globally.

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She's worked in Tennant Creek,[br]Northern Territory, Australia

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over the last decade with the Warumungu[br]community members on a range of projects

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including a book, an interactive website,[br]and a community archive.

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Her collaborations with the Warumungu[br]focused on alliance-making

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in cross cultural projects.

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Her book <i>Aboriginal Business:[br]Alliances in a Remote Australian Town</i>

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was published in 2009 by[br]The School of Advanced Research

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as part of their global indigenous[br]politic series.

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Currently, she is working on several[br]digital humanities projects

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that explore the ethical and practical[br]issues of openness and access,

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in relation to indigenous cultural[br]protocols and digital archives.

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These are to me crucial issues[br]that the bureau faces

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and I'm so happy to welcome Kim here.

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(Kimberly Christen-Withey) Thank you.

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I don't know if we want to keep the lights[br]on, or off, or how you want to do it?

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You just let me know how[br]the slides look, but.

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Oh, there you go!

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Thank you to Neil and Trevor[br]and everyone for inviting me here today.

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I have to confess that I have--[br]I present and speak in a lot of places,

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never in what appears to be a garage.

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(laughter) But this is awesome.

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Or, with a green screen behind me

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so I'm feeling very sort of Hollywood[br]here, this is great.

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We're in the midst of,[br]we don't have a physical space

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for what will eventually be something[br]like a digital humanities center.

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We don't even know what the name[br]of it's going to be at WSU yet,

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so I'm scoping out all the places I go[br]and this is just a fantastic space

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that you all have created here,[br]so it is indeed,

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as Neil sort of foreshadowed,[br]an exciting time to be here.

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It's an exciting time to be thinking[br]about the digital humanities in general.

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And more specifically, really, I think[br]about how we can all shape

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what the trajectory of this[br]still-emergent field.

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It's still pretty new, we're still[br]defining the contours.

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There's a lot to love about[br]digital humanities.

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It's exciting to be or at least sort of[br]imagine oneself on the cutting edge

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of humanistic scholarship.[br]You know, especially in universities

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we often in the Humanities get pushed[br]to the bottom rungs and the scientists

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are the ones doing the creative[br]and cutting-edge things.

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So, digital humanities brings all that.

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And digital humanities of course[br]is rooted in fields dedicated to things

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like textual analysis,[br]historical examination.

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And the present moment is filled with[br]DH practitioners extending these

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modes of inquiry to create visualizations[br]with big data, right?

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It's the thing, hot topic right now.

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Wrangling, searching, and compiling sets[br]of data for interpretation and analysis.

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There's also a lot of alternative mapping[br]projects that're really exciting,

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that bring together literature, history,[br]and geography to raise new questions

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about the importance of places,[br]nations, and cities

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in the circulation of knowledge.

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And of course, sort of one[br]of the bedrocks, digital archives.

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One of the things that digital humanities[br]started out doing and does really well

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that provide new ways of exploring,[br]linking, annotating, and curating content

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across and between fields of study.

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And while we're doing this, I'll use[br]the "we" since we're all here today

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as digital humanities practitioners.[br]We're not only creating things,

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we're also defining a field that's[br]interdisciplinary by it's nature.

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And we're asking ourselves,[br]what sets us apart?

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What <i>is</i> digital humanities or what are?

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And I'm going to move[br]between the two today.

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I don't like to stick in any one place.

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So, I'm not going to go down that road.[br]It's a persistent question though.

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<i>Who</i> are we?

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Who and what counts among us,

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and how does that matter[br]to our scholarship?

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Whether it be how we publish,[br]where we publish,

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the theories we extend to our data sets[br]and by what means we get tenure.

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There's a lot of talk and debate,

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will this digital humanities project[br]<i>count</i>, to get tenure?

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I have tenure so I have to no longer[br]answer that question,

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but it's a persistent question

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and it's one that we're[br]all grappling with.

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And this kind of self reflection[br]is necessary for any field.

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It inspires growth.

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It provides a fertile ground[br]for collaboration, I think.

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It can also often be daunting,

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this type of self reflection.

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And it can provoke some anxiety.

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And in my very quick[br]and very non-scientific sample

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of quotes pulled from recent publications[br]by thoughtful digital humanities folks,

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looking to intervene, make a difference,

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and engage a diverse audience[br]of scholars and practitioners.

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I see that things are critical.

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They're pivotal.[br]We need justification.

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There's anxiety and uncertainty here.

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Just reading these quotes[br]makes you a little nervous,

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just imagine reading all the articles[br]that led to these.

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This is an active debate[br]and it can sometimes be tiring,

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but it's also positive.

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One answer to this anxiety about[br]definitions and the state of the field

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has been the creation of manifestos,

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that seek to define a core set of ideals.

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Ok, if we're going to be[br]the digital humanities,

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we have to have a core set of ideals.

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We may not have to have a cannon,[br]but we have to have something we stand by

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and manifestos are a good way[br]of doing that, of staking your claim.

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The digital humanities 2.0 manifesto,[br]created by a group of scholars at UCLA,

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suggest that the digital humanities[br]bring together,

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"An array of convergent practices[br]that explore a universe,"

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"in which print is no longer[br]the exclusive or normative medium,"

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"in which knowledge is produced[br]and/or disseminated,"

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and, in which, "digital tools,[br]techniques, and media"

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"have altered the production[br]and dissemination of knowledge."

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So there's a lot going on there,[br]print has been displaced.

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We have these new production[br]and dissemination tools,

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and theories, and methods behind them,

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but they go on to define[br]the borders of this universe.

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The contours, the how we're going[br]to make ourselves different.

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Arguing that the digital is the realm[br]of "the open source open resources."

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"Anything that attempts[br]to close this space"

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"should be recognized for what it is..."

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"...the enemy."

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Their words.[br](laughter)

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I have two boys, so this is[br]my enemy in my house.

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(laughter) You may have other ones.

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Certainly, as a manifesto, [br]some of this is inflated prose, right?

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Manifestos by their nature[br]are meant to inspire action.

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They want to mobilize people around[br]something that we need to stand for.

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And in American culture, there's no[br]better way to do that

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than to have an enemy,[br]an us and a them,

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so we know where we are.

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So, the us knows the them

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and we can mobilize resources around that.

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So part of this seemingly vigilant focus[br]on open access, I think,

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comes from a general and often unreflected[br]love affair with the ideal of openness.

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The ideal of openness[br]and not necessarily

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a critical apprisal of the cultural[br]or historical basis of openness.

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So, the ideal of openness has deep roots

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in liberal scholarship, where the[br]digital humanities is growing from.

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And of course, progressive notions[br]of academic freedom and research.

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So this is not necessarily a negative form[br]or connotation and it's not necessary

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to say that open access should be[br]something we strive for in certain cases.

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But while we're loving openness so much,[br]I think we have forgotten that open

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is only one form of sharing.

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There are in fact many modes of sharing,

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only one of which is complete openness.

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And we already practice these modalities

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of sharing in our everyday lives,[br]online and offline.

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Long before Facebook ever gave us[br]the choice, people had varied

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social and cultural protocols to filter[br]how and with whom we shared information.

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Sharing and circulating knowledge

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is an integral part[br]of the digital humanities,

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and Todd Presner has suggested[br]that there have been two waves, thus far,

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of digital humanities scholarship.

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First, large scale digitization projects[br]and technical infrastructure projects.

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These focus mainly on text

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and making them open[br]and accessible to a general public.

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So, we have a library, let's open up[br]some of these collections.

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Let's digitize them,[br]let's get them online.

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Let's create the infrastructure[br]to do that.

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He suggests that was the first wave[br]of digital humanities scholarship.

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With what he calls DH 2.0,[br]he suggests a move to producing,

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curating, and interacting with materials,

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particularly those that are born digital.

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So these overlap and I don't think[br]that he would suggest,

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and I'm not suggesting that either[br]of these waves are complete.

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They're still both going on.[br]They crash into each other.

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I don't want to suggest another wave here.

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Instead, what I'd like to suggest[br]and what I'd like to throw out

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is more of a beacon,

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somewhere in the distance[br]as these waves are crashing.

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A reminder that as the waves are going on,

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as we mingle, as we digitize,[br]as we create,

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as we curate, as we archive,

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that we also, and at the same time,

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unpack the underlying assumptions

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about this gaze that we are producing.

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Digital humanities project are producing

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a way of seeing and being seen

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and the act of looking as a process[br]of knowledge acquisition.

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We see it.

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We get the knowledge[br]from it, right?

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These are quite literally grounded[br]in a new visual field

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that we're all taking part of[br]and creating.

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In their recent book,

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<i>Practices of Looking:[br]An Introduction to Visual Culture,</i>

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Marita Sturken and Lisa Cartwright[br]argue that there is

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"an economy of looking,[br]whether tacit or explicit,

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"in all cultural practices."

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So practices of looking then,[br]are deeply embedded

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in our own cultural logics[br]and our social structures,

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and as such, I want to suggest today[br]that these are deeply ethical acts

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and they're worthy[br]of our attention because so.

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Our practices of looking tell us more[br]about how we understand the world

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than what we're seeing.

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We need to examine how technology,

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particularly the technological tools[br]that we're creating and culture,

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not only our own culture,[br]the various cultures interact.

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And more importantly, how these modes[br]and cultural practices can inform

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our uses of technology to create[br]various types and tools for looking.

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One way of doing this, not the only way,

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but one way of doing this is moving away[br]from this center of digital humanities

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that Presner and other have defined[br]and that I started out with.

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That's the center, that's the core[br]of digital humanities to date.

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If we move off to the margins,[br]where subaltern, post-colonial,

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and indigenous projects are asking us[br]to see and look differently,

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we might be able to integrate those[br]back into the center.

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So, in 2002 after seven years of working[br]with the Warumungu Aboriginal community

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in Australia's Central Desert,[br]together we embarked on a collaboration

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to create a digital archive

0:12:01.176,0:12:04.935
based on their own[br]cultural protocols for viewing,

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circulating, and creating knowledge,

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both tangible and intangible.

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This all started when the gentleman[br]in the middle here, Michael Jampin Jones

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and I and a group of other people[br]went to the National Archives.

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So Tennant Creek, if you[br]imagine Australia,

0:12:20.898,0:12:23.525
Tennant Creek is almost[br]exactly dead center.

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It's 500 kilometers north of Alice Springs

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and 1,000 kilometers south of Darwin.

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So it's almost right[br]in the middle of the desert.

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So we drove to Darwin to look[br]at the National Archives

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and we looked at physical collections[br]and then we sat and looked

0:12:39.408,0:12:41.857
at their database of things[br]that they had digitized.

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As I sat with Jampin, we saw images[br]of deceased relatives.

0:12:46.735,0:12:51.428
We saw pictures of sacred sites[br]and initiation ceremonies

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that should <i>not</i> be seen[br]by a public audience.

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Jampin and others were distressed

0:12:56.242,0:13:01.276
at this sort of public presentation[br]of their cultural protocols.

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The Australian archives, like many[br]worldwide in the 1990's,

0:13:05.201,0:13:08.090
embraced the possibility[br]of digital technologies

0:13:08.091,0:13:10.924
to make their collections[br]open to the public.

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Without examining the colonial collecting[br]logic that populated the public domain.

0:13:17.890,0:13:20.863
So not only in Australia but in settler[br]nations around the world,

0:13:20.864,0:13:25.799
it takes some historical amnesia for us[br]all to forget that the public domain

0:13:25.800,0:13:28.938
has never been a welcoming space[br]for indigenous peoples,

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whose cultural materials found their way[br]into public and private collections

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by dubious and often violent means.

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This was certainly true for the Warumungu

0:13:38.650,0:13:42.378
and the collections we saw at[br]the National Museums throughout Australia

0:13:42.379,0:13:44.671
as well as in their online databases.

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So, a lot of the museums throughout[br]Australia have heralded this call

0:13:50.348,0:13:54.063
and they are bringing communities[br]in to look at the collections

0:13:54.064,0:13:56.679
and if there are items that they[br]don't want to be seen,

0:13:56.680,0:14:00.941
oftentimes now, there has been a change[br]over the last 10 to 15, 20 years

0:14:00.942,0:14:06.315
where museums will oftentimes not display[br]items if communities don't want them to

0:14:06.316,0:14:10.726
and you will see, and this is where[br]Australia is a little more the forefront

0:14:10.727,0:14:14.577
than the United States, you will see[br]warnings on collections,

0:14:15.537,0:14:18.004
sometimes online but also offline,

0:14:18.005,0:14:20.504
that there's material in here[br]that you may not want to see.

0:14:20.505,0:14:24.327
So the collection's not necessarily[br]taken down but there are warnings.

0:14:24.328,0:14:25.647
It's a step.

0:14:25.968,0:14:28.880
For the Warumungu community,[br]cultural materials and knowledge

0:14:28.881,0:14:32.883
are shared within a set[br]of cultural protocols,

0:14:32.884,0:14:36.180
driven by their relationships to places.

0:14:36.181,0:14:39.215
Very specific places on the landscape.

0:14:39.216,0:14:41.660
Where they were born,[br]where they were conceived,

0:14:41.661,0:14:44.022
where their parents lived, etc.

0:14:44.022,0:14:47.511
And their ancestors,[br]human and non-human,

0:14:47.512,0:14:50.767
and kin, the contemporary[br]Warumungu people.

0:14:50.768,0:14:53.241
These variables determine multiple types

0:14:53.242,0:14:55.240
of information circulation.

0:14:55.241,0:14:57.839
So they combine and move.

0:14:58.112,0:15:02.389
In the Warumungu context, there's this[br]continuum between open and closed.

0:15:02.801,0:15:05.901
There's rarely anything that's just[br]completely open,

0:15:05.902,0:15:09.316
or anything that's completely closed[br]and shut off.

0:15:09.317,0:15:14.859
There are several factors that go into[br]actually defining this continuum.

0:15:14.860,0:15:19.342
There's death, when people die[br]often for various amounts of times,

0:15:19.343,0:15:21.874
pictures, images, songs that they sung,

0:15:21.875,0:15:25.202
everything will be taken down[br]but eventually it will come back.

0:15:26.082,0:15:30.537
Ritual affiliations, so the knowledge[br]that you have of particular rituals.

0:15:32.156,0:15:35.328
Country, like I said, the physical places[br]on the landscape.

0:15:35.328,0:15:39.519
Your kin groups and gender[br]is a big influence

0:15:39.520,0:15:41.497
in the way that information circulates.

0:15:41.498,0:15:44.260
There's always men's business[br]and women's business.

0:15:44.261,0:15:47.493
Now, this isn't a type of patriarchy.

0:15:47.494,0:15:51.214
This isn't a form of oppression,[br]in fact, it's a complementary system.

0:15:51.215,0:15:53.820
Men's business and women's business[br]work together.

0:15:53.835,0:15:57.221
They don't necessarily know exactly[br]what the other is doing,

0:15:57.222,0:16:01.233
but in order to ensure the growth[br]and continuation of the community

0:16:01.234,0:16:03.611
and of knowledge, they both[br]have to do their business.

0:16:03.612,0:16:07.054
It's interesting and that's where[br]the title of my book comes from

0:16:07.055,0:16:09.682
that they chose the word[br]in English, "business,"

0:16:10.272,0:16:12.779
to talk about their ritual practices

0:16:12.780,0:16:14.919
because that's what's important.

0:16:15.609,0:16:17.418
Right? That is what keeps things going.

0:16:17.419,0:16:20.648
So, it's an interesting choice[br]in English to use that word.

0:16:20.649,0:16:24.540
So for example, there may be some songs[br]that are only accessible

0:16:24.541,0:16:27.929
and to be sung by women[br]from a certain kin group,

0:16:27.930,0:16:29.451
at a certain place.

0:16:29.452,0:16:34.179
Or there might be a water hole[br]that is cared for by a certain kin group

0:16:34.180,0:16:36.532
at certain times and if someone dies

0:16:36.533,0:16:38.565
you don't sing their songs[br]at that water hole

0:16:38.566,0:16:40.073
for a certain amount of time.

0:16:40.074,0:16:41.300
And so on, and so on.

0:16:41.712,0:16:45.620
The point is that there are multiple[br]social and cultural factors

0:16:45.621,0:16:48.550
that go into the diffusion[br]and creation of knowledge.

0:16:49.251,0:16:54.623
So over several years, we worked[br]to take this sort of offline system

0:16:54.624,0:16:58.936
and make it flexible enough to accommodate[br]any set of cultural needs.

0:16:58.936,0:17:01.749
Rather than working from[br]a Western paradigm

0:17:01.750,0:17:05.106
that information wants[br]to be free and open to all,

0:17:05.676,0:17:09.192
what indigenous communities around[br]the world remind us is that, in fact,

0:17:09.193,0:17:12.241
information and knowledge[br]is always grounded.

0:17:12.897,0:17:17.951
It's rooted to local places[br]and people even as it travels and moves.

0:17:17.952,0:17:22.161
When it travels, it gathers stories,[br]narratives, histories.

0:17:22.162,0:17:26.280
It joins people together as they seek[br]to make their worlds more meaningful.

0:17:26.500,0:17:30.224
How people define these travels[br]are driven by their cultural values.

0:17:30.582,0:17:32.878
For the Warumungu [br]and other indigenous people,

0:17:32.879,0:17:37.595
this is based on not seeing,[br]or partially seeing,

0:17:37.596,0:17:39.349
or seeing differently.

0:17:40.330,0:17:42.484
This is one of my favorite[br]types of images.

0:17:42.485,0:17:45.958
The first time I saw this was at Uluru[br]in the Central Desert in Australia

0:17:45.959,0:17:48.027
at the Visitor's Center.

0:17:49.480,0:17:54.493
The Aboriginal population there[br]had gone into the Visitor's Center

0:17:54.494,0:17:59.717
and taken cardboard and duct tape[br]and taped over a bunch of images

0:17:59.718,0:18:02.481
of an elder who had passed away.

0:18:03.010,0:18:06.425
So you have this very stark example

0:18:06.426,0:18:09.831
of this is our cultural practice.

0:18:09.841,0:18:12.636
You shouldn't be looking at this.

0:18:13.386,0:18:16.519
Right? And so it was the first time[br]I saw that and I'm thinking,

0:18:16.520,0:18:21.176
"Wow, it's very material practice for us[br]to actually jolt you out of that."

0:18:21.177,0:18:23.618
When you go to a visitor's center,[br]a learning center,

0:18:23.619,0:18:26.214
you want to go there and learn about[br]the other people, right?

0:18:26.215,0:18:29.412
And here we were learning[br]about a viewing practice.

0:18:29.822,0:18:32.868
So not seeing seems counter-intuitive,

0:18:32.869,0:18:36.438
not only to the work of the humanities,[br]but libraries, archivists,

0:18:36.439,0:18:40.810
because we rely so deeply on texts[br]and circulating images

0:18:40.811,0:18:43.669
and making them open for everybody.

0:18:43.943,0:18:48.158
But if we start here, we may find new ways[br]of defining the digital humanities.

0:18:48.547,0:18:53.358
So in 2005, based on these practices[br]and my work with the Warumugu,

0:18:53.359,0:18:57.426
several Warumungu community members[br]and I worked with the Vectors team

0:18:57.427,0:19:00.645
out of USC, lead by Tara McPherson,

0:19:00.646,0:19:03.012
who's wonderful, who many of you[br]probably know.

0:19:03.013,0:19:07.686
And we created the Digital Dynamics[br]of Cross Cultures Online Space,

0:19:07.687,0:19:11.222
as part of the, I think it was the second[br]or third issue of Vectors

0:19:11.223,0:19:13.928
when it came out, way back in 2005.

0:19:13.929,0:19:17.933
Our goal was to use the medium itself[br]to disrupt the message.

0:19:18.305,0:19:23.533
So the default viewing protocols online[br]and underpinning many DH projects

0:19:23.534,0:19:27.205
is search and you will find, right?

0:19:27.206,0:19:31.234
Search has become this framework[br]for the ecology of information sharing

0:19:31.235,0:19:32.719
on the internet.

0:19:32.720,0:19:35.013
Like colonial frameworks of searching,

0:19:35.014,0:19:37.188
the expectation of online search is that

0:19:37.189,0:19:39.072
you will find what you're looking for

0:19:39.073,0:19:42.246
and you can use it and take it[br]for your own purposes.

0:19:42.247,0:19:43.260
Right?

0:19:43.261,0:19:45.043
It's that same sort of paradigm.

0:19:45.044,0:19:46.818
This is what our students do,[br]this is what I do.

0:19:46.819,0:19:49.178
I got this on there, right?[br]I search. Google.

0:19:49.178,0:19:51.858
This is what comes up[br]in their image archive.

0:19:51.866,0:19:56.536
So our Vector site is meant to challenge[br]this mode of knowledge collection

0:19:56.537,0:19:58.926
and it's attempt at ethical assumptions.

0:20:00.394,0:20:04.711
So when a viewer begins,[br]they begin in a place.

0:20:04.739,0:20:06.634
So these are representations,

0:20:06.635,0:20:10.411
and all of the artwork was done by[br]Warumungu artists,

0:20:10.698,0:20:13.801
so each of the circles is a place.

0:20:14.223,0:20:20.438
And when they first did this,[br]we did not have them in correct

0:20:20.439,0:20:22.971
geographical relationship to each other.

0:20:22.972,0:20:26.380
They said, "No, no, no. We don't want[br]people to be able to know"

0:20:26.381,0:20:28.056
"exactly what the place looks like"

0:20:28.057,0:20:30.850
"but they always have to be in place."

0:20:30.851,0:20:34.042
So they still have to be[br]at the proper coordinates.

0:20:34.043,0:20:39.180
And one of the things Jampin reminded me[br]was that all knowledge is placed

0:20:39.789,0:20:41.851
and all places have knowledge.

0:20:42.157,0:20:44.595
So you can't know without being there.

0:20:44.596,0:20:47.545
So, we start in place[br]and a viewer starts there.

0:20:47.546,0:20:50.144
And then, you click on a place[br]and these are your tracks.

0:20:50.153,0:20:54.791
The site will chart your tracks[br]as you move throughout the place.

0:20:55.259,0:20:59.338
You will get a textual introduction[br]overview of the place.

0:20:59.557,0:21:02.950
So this place is Manga-Manda.[br]It's an old Christian mission

0:21:02.951,0:21:06.069
where children were taken,[br]a stolen generation.

0:21:06.070,0:21:09.520
Some of you may have heard they were[br]taken away from their families

0:21:09.521,0:21:10.991
not too far from Tennant Creek,

0:21:10.992,0:21:13.607
taken to this mission to learn[br]European skills.

0:21:14.063,0:21:15.756
So you'll get a little bit[br]of information there

0:21:15.757,0:21:18.445
and then you can click[br]on the nodes off to the right.

0:21:19.510,0:21:22.902
And then you'll get some more specific[br]information about what happened there.

0:21:22.903,0:21:25.286
You might learn something[br]about the ceremonies

0:21:25.287,0:21:29.510
and what we're trying to do here[br]is start you down the path,

0:21:29.511,0:21:32.130
this sort of expectation of an online site

0:21:32.131,0:21:34.262
is that you're going to be learning[br]something, right?

0:21:34.263,0:21:36.982
You're going to be learning something[br]about Warumungu culture,

0:21:36.983,0:21:38.681
that's what you're here for.

0:21:38.682,0:21:41.146
And so we start to fulfill[br]that expectation.

0:21:41.529,0:21:42.604
Except that we don't.

0:21:42.605,0:21:47.976
So as viewers continue to maneuver[br]throughout the site, you're stopped.

0:21:48.606,0:21:51.743
A photo may be partially covered[br]because the person in the picture

0:21:51.744,0:21:53.672
has recently passed away.

0:21:54.315,0:21:57.278
Or you might be watching a video,

0:21:57.279,0:22:00.071
(woman speaking on video clip)

0:22:16.201,0:22:17.457
and it'll stop.

0:22:18.506,0:22:20.675
Or you might be listening to a song,

0:22:20.676,0:22:23.840
(traditional chanting audio clip)

0:22:29.386,0:22:32.013
and it'll fade in and out,[br]depending on the content.

0:22:32.014,0:22:35.002
(chanting audio clip begins again)

0:22:38.591,0:22:44.104
We purposely did not translate[br]any of the videos, or songs,

0:22:44.105,0:22:48.498
or anything and we got this[br]sort of feedback from some anthropologists

0:22:48.499,0:22:49.985
when the first site came out,

0:22:50.016,0:22:51.954
but we can't understand[br]what they're saying.

0:22:51.955,0:22:56.513
And I tried to explain, well because[br]it's not really about what they're saying.

0:22:56.514,0:22:57.920
We're actually trying to teach you about

0:22:57.921,0:23:00.623
your own learning practices[br]and cultural protocols.

0:23:00.624,0:23:01.783
And this was an anthropologist

0:23:01.784,0:23:03.515
and he's like, "But I can't hear[br]what they're saying!"

0:23:03.645,0:23:07.888
(laughing) So we had a long debate[br]on an anthropology blog about that.

0:23:07.889,0:23:10.590
But the site is designed in such a way,[br]there's an algorithm

0:23:10.591,0:23:12.680
that a random sampling of material

0:23:12.680,0:23:15.065
will always come up with[br]one of nine protocols.

0:23:15.066,0:23:19.765
And the protocols were chosen[br]by the Warumungu community,

0:23:19.765,0:23:23.077
related to circulation and access.

0:23:23.078,0:23:25.800
So in each case though[br]when a viewer is stopped,

0:23:25.801,0:23:28.533
we don't want to just stop them[br]and have them be frustrated.

0:23:28.749,0:23:30.920
We do want to frustrate them[br]for a moment

0:23:30.921,0:23:34.284
but then you'll go to or learn[br]about this protocol site.

0:23:34.572,0:23:36.425
And you'll get a short explanation.

0:23:36.426,0:23:38.926
So, why is it that I can't see this?

0:23:38.927,0:23:43.897
Well, in some cases, custodians[br]for country are gendered

0:23:43.898,0:23:46.940
and so it goes on to define that[br]and what that means.

0:23:46.941,0:23:49.857
And then the Warumungu artist[br]that we worked with also created

0:23:49.858,0:23:52.909
short animations for several[br]of the protocols.

0:23:53.450,0:23:57.223
So you'll get a touch tool explanation[br]or you'll watch a short animation

0:23:57.224,0:23:58.521
about the protocol.

0:23:58.522,0:24:02.313
So you're starting to see, ok,[br]it's not that the site isn't working,

0:24:02.314,0:24:05.636
it's not that I should be learning this[br]and I'm learning that,

0:24:05.637,0:24:09.860
the hope was that as users[br]maneuver throughout the site,

0:24:09.861,0:24:12.101
they'll grapple with their own biases

0:24:12.189,0:24:16.131
about information freedom[br]and knowledge sharing online.

0:24:16.236,0:24:18.999
Through a set of alternative[br]looking practices.

0:24:19.000,0:24:22.110
Where not looking,[br]or averting your gaze

0:24:22.111,0:24:25.869
or being denied access[br]is a type of ethical behavior.

0:24:28.262,0:24:30.124
It's not a repercussion,

0:24:30.125,0:24:31.200
it's not a penalty,

0:24:31.201,0:24:32.358
it's not an error.

0:24:32.873,0:24:36.243
It's a different type of looking behavior.

0:24:36.297,0:24:38.642
So by presenting all of this information

0:24:38.643,0:24:41.092
throughout a set of Warumungu[br]cultural protocols.

0:24:41.093,0:24:45.161
The site's internal logic, challenges[br]many of the presumptions

0:24:45.162,0:24:48.552
about knowledge acquisition[br]and looking that we all hold.

0:24:48.553,0:24:55.220
And this project in 2005 was the catalyst[br]for the creation of Murkutu CMS.

0:24:56.293,0:24:58.880
So Murkutu due is a free[br]and open source solution

0:24:58.881,0:25:01.463
for managing and sharing digital heritage,

0:25:01.464,0:25:04.191
built with and for[br]indigenous communities worldwide.

0:25:04.905,0:25:08.921
Now Murkutu literally means[br]in Waramungu "dilly bag."

0:25:09.291,0:25:13.259
So as we were creating[br]the first iteration of Murkutu,

0:25:13.260,0:25:16.835
which was just for those collections[br]that we got back from the National Museums

0:25:16.835,0:25:18.375
that we went to and from.

0:25:18.376,0:25:21.731
We got back collections from[br]missionaries, school teachers,

0:25:21.732,0:25:24.492
other people who have worked[br]in Tennant Creek.

0:25:25.072,0:25:28.411
The first iteration was just going to be[br]a community archive.

0:25:28.412,0:25:30.782
It was browser-based, it was standalone,

0:25:30.783,0:25:33.066
it wasn't online,[br]it was just for the community.

0:25:33.067,0:25:34.565
And when they were naming it,

0:25:34.566,0:25:37.612
Jampin said that he wanted[br]to name it Murkutu.

0:25:37.613,0:25:39.772
And I had never heard the word before

0:25:39.773,0:25:42.462
and I worked in the community[br]for over 10 years and he said

0:25:42.463,0:25:45.794
the dilly bag was a safe keeping place.

0:25:45.795,0:25:49.508
Elders kept sacred items in the dilly bag

0:25:49.509,0:25:53.281
and as younger generations,[br]you had to approach the elder

0:25:53.282,0:25:56.096
to find out about that knowledge[br]and about those items,

0:25:56.097,0:25:57.854
so about your cultural heritage.

0:25:57.855,0:26:00.712
However, it was also[br]incumbent on the elder

0:26:00.713,0:26:03.500
to open those up and share that,

0:26:03.501,0:26:05.587
otherwise, the knowledge would die.

0:26:05.587,0:26:08.398
And that was his word in English,[br]the knowledge would die.

0:26:08.399,0:26:13.497
So it was actually about creating[br]a dialogue and reciprocation,

0:26:13.498,0:26:17.723
sharing cultural knowledge,[br]not shutting it off or closing it down

0:26:17.724,0:26:21.352
but sharing it properly[br]is how Jampin put it.

0:26:21.759,0:26:24.838
So the dilly bag we thought[br]is a good metaphor

0:26:24.839,0:26:27.150
for the way that Murkutu functions.

0:26:27.420,0:26:30.151
Murkutu centers around protocols.

0:26:30.558,0:26:32.907
These are the heart[br]and soul of Murkutu.

0:26:32.908,0:26:36.471
They allow any community, however defined,

0:26:36.472,0:26:41.518
to determine how materials are shared[br]through fine brain levels of access.

0:26:41.519,0:26:44.768
So that slide I put up[br]with the ritual, gender,

0:26:44.780,0:26:48.691
for the Warumungu, those would be[br]the protocols that they define

0:26:48.692,0:26:50.617
within their instance of Murkutu.

0:26:50.618,0:26:53.407
We're working with the Zuni libraries,[br]they use clans.

0:26:53.408,0:26:55.894
All the groups, and that was the thing.

0:26:55.895,0:26:58.370
One of the things[br]we grappled with early on.

0:26:58.371,0:27:01.470
We couldn't just use[br]a cookie cutter set of protocols.

0:27:01.471,0:27:03.315
Oh everybody'll have gender, no!

0:27:03.316,0:27:07.053
So it had to be flexible enough[br]that any community can define whatever

0:27:07.063,0:27:09.890
and that they're flexible[br]enough to change.

0:27:10.710,0:27:13.311
So it was interesting with[br]the Warumungu community

0:27:13.312,0:27:15.364
at first that deceased protocol

0:27:15.472,0:27:17.286
was very strict

0:27:17.578,0:27:23.008
and over the last five or six years,[br]we've seen it so thumbnails are ok.

0:27:23.934,0:27:25.775
But bigger versions aren't.

0:27:25.786,0:27:28.478
So, right? Because people change.

0:27:28.838,0:27:31.862
And our protocols is for viewing[br]and circulating knowledge change

0:27:31.863,0:27:36.721
and so, as a database, Murkutu[br]also had to be that flexible to change.

0:27:38.828,0:27:41.027
But within the content management system,

0:27:41.028,0:27:44.940
I can add any protocol to any single item

0:27:44.941,0:27:47.819
or in a collection and with one click

0:27:47.820,0:27:50.247
that protocol will be added[br]across the field.

0:27:50.248,0:27:53.824
So within Murkutu this happens[br]in a really simple interface.

0:27:54.721,0:27:57.324
And you choose[br]"add your cultural protocol"

0:27:57.325,0:27:59.527
and then you add your protocol over here,

0:27:59.528,0:28:02.216
define it however you want,[br]so this is a youth protocol.

0:28:02.217,0:28:04.825
And then there's three sharing protocols

0:28:04.826,0:28:08.628
that allow you to create[br]those levels of access.

0:28:08.629,0:28:12.993
So there’s s community level,[br]there's what we call community strict,

0:28:12.994,0:28:18.986
which is something where you'd have to be[br]a woman from that country, right?

0:28:18.987,0:28:22.617
And in that kin group, you have to have[br]all three of those protocols met,

0:28:22.618,0:28:24.232
to see something.

0:28:24.495,0:28:26.903
Whereas, if it's just[br]a community protocol,

0:28:26.904,0:28:29.609
you can be any of those[br]and you will see it.

0:28:29.610,0:28:33.271
So the protocols overlap[br]and create these sort of Venn diagrams.

0:28:33.653,0:28:37.895
But one of the other things that I[br]worked with the designers on

0:28:37.896,0:28:40.184
and the folks that were architecting this

0:28:40.185,0:28:44.904
was, I gave them a two-click mantra[br]when we started, which is

0:28:44.905,0:28:46.873
if anything takes longer than two clicks,

0:28:46.874,0:28:48.406
we're going to lose people.

0:28:48.407,0:28:50.476
We're dealing not only[br]with literacy issues,

0:28:50.477,0:28:52.515
but digital literacy issues as well.

0:28:52.712,0:28:55.719
So this is a matter of design[br]and functionality, too.

0:28:55.720,0:28:57.908
Who's your audience?[br]Who's the user base?

0:28:57.909,0:28:59.103
What do they need?

0:28:59.104,0:29:02.787
We knew there was a need.[br]We also couldn't create something

0:29:02.788,0:29:05.115
that people wouldn't be able to[br]sit down and use.

0:29:05.115,0:29:08.052
And interestingly,[br]in the communities that I work in,

0:29:08.053,0:29:10.299
both in the Pacific northwest[br]and in Australia,

0:29:10.300,0:29:13.499
I don't ever see people sitting[br]at the archive,

0:29:13.500,0:29:15.878
at the computer, by themselves.

0:29:15.879,0:29:17.381
It's always in groups, whereas,

0:29:17.382,0:29:19.758
you know, you think of the archives,[br]you go in and

0:29:19.759,0:29:22.794
(whispering) you're quiet, you sit[br]and you just do your own thing.

0:29:22.795,0:29:26.860
No! It's about sharing stories[br]and telling what's happening

0:29:26.861,0:29:28.127
and looking at these things.

0:29:28.128,0:29:33.932
So, in this case, our philosophy[br]has always been to make

0:29:33.933,0:29:38.156
the technology bend to the culture,[br]as opposed to the other way around.

0:29:38.482,0:29:41.693
Where generally we say, "Ok, well,[br]we know that's your cultural value"

0:29:41.694,0:29:43.133
"but the technology will only do this."

0:29:43.136,0:29:45.799
That's what started us down his road.

0:29:45.800,0:29:49.804
I was a graduate student in 2002[br]and I said, "Oh I'm sure we can just buy"

0:29:49.805,0:29:51.840
"some software to do this."

0:29:52.240,0:29:54.776
Ok 14, you know, 12 years later!

0:29:54.777,0:29:57.917
Now, we're creating software.[br]I mean, I was a cultural anthropologist,

0:29:57.918,0:30:01.394
I didn't write a line of code.[br]That's not me.

0:30:01.395,0:30:05.492
But the cultural ideal behind it,[br]and I worked with great technologists

0:30:05.493,0:30:10.342
who understand that this idea,[br]bending the technology to make it work

0:30:10.343,0:30:12.378
so that people don't have to relinquish

0:30:12.379,0:30:16.978
their cultural values for this sort[br]of open and shut model that we have.

0:30:16.979,0:30:20.799
So for me, it's not necessarily about[br]building technology, but building trust.

0:30:21.541,0:30:24.660
And of course there has to be trust[br]in the technology.

0:30:24.750,0:30:27.916
It's a big thing and I've seen this[br]with the work that I do

0:30:27.917,0:30:31.959
in the Pacific northwest with the tribes[br]when I started working at WSU,

0:30:31.960,0:30:34.653
we used Murkutu[br]to create something called

0:30:34.654,0:30:36.467
the Plateau People's Web Portal.

0:30:36.468,0:30:39.695
And at the first couple meetings[br]with the tribal representatives,

0:30:39.696,0:30:42.327
they said that, "And are <i>you</i>[br]going to be here, Kim?"

0:30:42.328,0:30:44.223
I was like (gasp).

0:30:44.224,0:30:48.727
I mean it was really about,[br]and nine years later, I'm still there

0:30:48.728,0:30:52.714
but it took several years[br]just to establish

0:30:52.715,0:30:56.330
that we could all work together,

0:30:56.331,0:30:58.579
that we're not going to take[br]your stuff and leave.

0:30:58.580,0:31:02.121
They've been burned by researchers[br]and universities before.

0:31:02.122,0:31:05.806
And so it really is, so the technology[br]should inspire that trust.

0:31:05.807,0:31:09.531
So the protocols really have to work[br]and people have to see them working.

0:31:09.969,0:31:14.257
So our Murkutu team works directly[br]with groups to encourage

0:31:14.258,0:31:15.852
these types of relationships.

0:31:15.853,0:31:17.422
We worked with the Smithsonian,

0:31:17.423,0:31:20.970
we've worked with other collecting[br]institutions to bring these materials

0:31:20.971,0:31:24.725
back to communities and not just[br]hand them back on a hard drive,

0:31:24.726,0:31:27.205
but actually have a relationship together.

0:31:27.489,0:31:30.244
In December, we launched MIRA,

0:31:30.824,0:31:34.210
which is a mammoth example[br]of what can be done with Mukurtu.

0:31:34.438,0:31:37.875
MIRA is a collaboration between Mukurtu,

0:31:37.876,0:31:41.707
the Center for Digital Archeology[br]at Berkeley,

0:31:41.708,0:31:44.934
and the Canning Stock Route Project[br]team in Australia.

0:31:45.418,0:31:49.427
MIRA has over 40,000[br]digital heritage objects,

0:31:49.428,0:31:54.149
providing the most comprehensive database[br]for the artwork, stories, and histories

0:31:54.150,0:31:57.590
of the Aboriginal people who live[br]on the Canning Stock Route,

0:31:57.591,0:31:59.815
which is the major colonial artery

0:31:59.816,0:32:01.971
that cuts across the Australian continent

0:32:01.972,0:32:06.356
and affected hundreds of Aboriginal[br]communities, disrupted their lives,

0:32:06.357,0:32:08.206
disrupted their cultures[br]and their languages.

0:32:09.215,0:32:14.765
MIRA uses Murkutu's customized fields

0:32:14.766,0:32:18.864
to provide a rich and detailed set[br]of linked content in what we call

0:32:18.865,0:32:21.681
in Murkutu digital heritage items.

0:32:21.766,0:32:26.213
And you can link them together[br]to create digital heritage stories,

0:32:26.214,0:32:30.060
including video narratives[br]by artists in their country,

0:32:31.443,0:32:33.670
individual pages for artists[br]and contributors,

0:32:33.670,0:32:37.675
richly and multiply-narrated stories[br]with text, audio, and video.

0:32:38.280,0:32:43.103
And all of these were curated by hundreds[br]of Aboriginal community members.

0:32:43.354,0:32:46.565
They're the experts.[br]That's the difference here.

0:32:46.566,0:32:49.334
These are curated by the Aboriginal[br]members themselves,

0:32:49.335,0:32:52.621
in different languages and with[br]different sets of protocols

0:32:52.622,0:32:54.480
across these images.

0:32:54.481,0:32:57.054
So one community happened to have[br]some protocols,

0:32:57.055,0:32:58.830
another will have[br]another set of protocols.

0:32:59.020,0:33:01.050
It pushed us to our limits

0:33:01.051,0:33:06.276
and now within Murkutu, every field[br]can have a protocol attached to it.

0:33:06.277,0:33:10.344
So you may be ok with someone[br]seeing this painting,

0:33:10.345,0:33:12.924
you may not want them[br]to hear the song or see the map.

0:33:13.343,0:33:17.749
So you can still get to this page[br]but those fields will be hidden.

0:33:17.749,0:33:20.530
So now our protocols are[br]every single field,

0:33:20.531,0:33:24.602
every point of metadata can have[br]its individual protocol.

0:33:24.603,0:33:27.979
That's a new feature in Murkutu,[br]stemming from the MIRA project

0:33:27.980,0:33:29.835
and we're really happy about that.

0:33:29.835,0:33:32.467
And because this project[br]really took us out

0:33:32.468,0:33:34.283
and worked with hundreds[br]of Aboriginal communities,

0:33:34.284,0:33:38.858
we started looking at this on the go[br]recording in curation.

0:33:38.859,0:33:44.737
So we launched Murkutu Mobile[br]in October 2012 for iphones.

0:33:44.738,0:33:48.803
We just got an NEH grant[br]and we will soon be also

0:33:48.804,0:33:51.349
releasing it on Android as well.

0:33:51.698,0:33:56.585
But this allows users to instantly upload[br]content to Murkutu sites,

0:33:56.586,0:34:00.213
keeping their protocols[br]embedded at that level.

0:34:00.214,0:34:02.277
So they're never without their protocols.

0:34:02.278,0:34:05.132
They can also add their stories.[br]They can talk into it.

0:34:05.133,0:34:08.391
They can do an oral history interview[br]right there in the field

0:34:08.393,0:34:10.426
and link it to the photo of the person,

0:34:10.427,0:34:14.024
geo locate it, and upload all of that.

0:34:14.025,0:34:17.003
If they're offline, once they get[br]back online, they can sync it.

0:34:17.402,0:34:20.266
And it'll go right into[br]their instance of Murkutu.

0:34:21.301,0:34:25.590
All of this, in fact, all of the[br]development of features of Murkutu

0:34:25.591,0:34:29.866
happens around what we call community[br]agile software development.

0:34:29.867,0:34:33.482
So the notion of agile software[br]development is already there, right?

0:34:33.483,0:34:36.714
We add the community to it,[br]so every feature,

0:34:36.715,0:34:39.940
every upgrade of Murkutu comes[br]from what the community wants.

0:34:39.940,0:34:41.731
They can vote things up or down.

0:34:41.732,0:34:45.641
So, this type of mobile was something[br]everywhere we went.

0:34:45.643,0:34:47.561
We did some workshops[br]across New Zealand

0:34:47.562,0:34:50.536
and everywhere we went people said,[br]"What about mobile? What about mobile?"

0:34:50.538,0:34:52.815
And the reason why is kids.

0:34:52.817,0:34:55.385
They want to get their kids involved

0:34:55.386,0:35:00.104
in creating and sharing heritage[br]and not just uploading it to Facebook.

0:35:00.811,0:35:03.749
They want this stuff to remain[br]within their communities;

0:35:03.750,0:35:06.521
they might also be on Facebook[br]but they want stuff in the communities.

0:35:06.914,0:35:11.638
So I think that projects like Murkurtu[br]can help us define the present future

0:35:11.639,0:35:16.580
of the digital humanities as a field,[br]whereas one of my mentors,

0:35:16.581,0:35:18.866
Donna Haraway, reminds us,

0:35:18.867,0:35:23.820
"We become answerable,[br]for what we learn how to see."

0:35:25.488,0:35:28.124
As we move forward, carving out this field

0:35:28.125,0:35:30.861
and creating it's contours,[br]we should remind ourselves

0:35:30.862,0:35:36.107
to hold multiple, challenging,[br]and often times conflicting perspectives

0:35:36.108,0:35:40.840
about knowledge and it's value[br]for the many publics that we engage with.

0:35:41.470,0:35:44.314
Aboriginal practices of masking,

0:35:44.315,0:35:48.429
deleting, defaming images,[br]objects, and artifacts

0:35:48.430,0:35:50.821
disrupts this act of looking

0:35:50.940,0:35:54.914
and the privileging of seeing[br]as a precursor to knowledge acquisition

0:35:54.915,0:35:57.400
that we hold in this Western tradition.

0:35:57.444,0:36:01.202
They help us see that communities[br]have different ways of knowing

0:36:01.203,0:36:06.185
and that culturally responsive technology[br]can be leveraged to achieve their goals,

0:36:06.186,0:36:08.909
without giving up[br]what makes them different.

0:36:09.345,0:36:14.239
Collaborations between scholars[br]and the many communities we move between

0:36:14.240,0:36:19.363
can, and should, keep these tensions[br]in place; let's not give them up.

0:36:19.776,0:36:24.313
As we seek to create a productive center[br]for the digital humanities,

0:36:24.314,0:36:26.564
where we think differently

0:36:26.565,0:36:30.079
about this seemingly benign[br]act of looking,

0:36:30.080,0:36:33.050
it's one thing to call attention[br]to difference,

0:36:33.051,0:36:36.049
it's another to alter[br]our visual practices,

0:36:36.049,0:36:39.420
challenge archival curation practices,

0:36:39.421,0:36:41.547
and question modes of access.

0:36:42.102,0:36:46.307
Moving forward, I think digital humanities[br]scholars can be at the forefront.

0:36:46.308,0:36:50.642
We can play a role in defining[br]a new economy of looking,

0:36:50.643,0:36:55.941
where localized project scales,[br]divergent ethical systems,

0:36:55.942,0:37:00.667
varied access models,[br]and collaborative tool-making

0:37:00.668,0:37:04.519
come to the center[br]and, therefore, enliven

0:37:04.520,0:37:07.629
and expand the digital humanities[br]for all of us.

0:37:08.594,0:37:09.827
Thank you.

0:37:10.260,0:37:12.422
(applause)

0:37:16.245,0:37:17.675
So I know that was a lot.

0:37:17.676,0:37:18.800
(laughter)