In January 2020 we began developing a microsite for the Blackfoot Digital Library (BDL) with the goal of providing access to the Blackfoot items imaged during the visits to museums and reuniting them with their associated knowledge and histories. The BDL is already home to thousands of digital records, cared for by Danielle Heavy Head, and regularly accessed by community members. The microsite will focus on providing a web space designed and optimized for this collection of 3D and spatial imagery.
In the introduction to the BDL, Narcisse Blood states that new and changing technologies can work against the people or be harnessed and used in their own worldview (Blood, n.d.). To harness 3D models in the Blackfoot worldview, our team is working to design and develop an online space using the basic building blocks of web technologies and assembling them with Blackfoot ways of knowing to guide decision-making. Our vision for the site is to drastically change the way the items are presented, taking them out of the museum context and reactivating their Blackfoot relations, bringing them ‘home’ to Blackfoot territory.
You can now explore and learn about the Blackfoot items we imaged at mootookakiossin.ca
Website Development
The site was developed by UofL alumni, Calvin Lloyd, who used his experience in computer science and web development to tackle this technically challenging project. You can learn more about his process in our Research Stories:
-
There and Back Again, A Developer’s Tale
Every Blackfoot item featured on the Mootookakio’ssin website has a unique story to tell, and it is difficult to tell a story when you are hidden from the world, collecting dust in a museum. Bringing recognition and appreciation to these inaccessible Blackfoot items has been the underlying goal of the Mootookakio’ssin project; after all, that is what Mootookakio’ssin means: distant awareness. This project brought together a team of many talented researchers both locally and internationally, across a broad range of disciplines. The process of bringing these items closer to home has been a long and winding journey: from travelling overseas…
Blood, N 2006, “Welcome | Oki to the Blackfoot digital library”, online video, https://www.blackfootdigitallibrary.com/digital/collection/bdl.