GIBAGADINAMAAGOOM: AN OJIBWE DIGITAL ARCHIVE

FAIN: HD-50776-09

Itasca Community College (Grand Rapids, MN 55744-3361)
Timothy B. Powell (Project Director: April 2009 to April 2011)

A series of planning meetings to redesign a digital archive of Ojibwe historical and cultural resources to allow for multiple user interfaces and more extensive categorization of materials.

Gibagadinamaagoom, (To Bring to Life, to Sanction, to Give Permission), will bring together a diverse array of partners to discuss how state-of-the-art digital technology can be employed to translate ancient and sophisticated systems of traditional Ojibwe knowledge. Discussions will address the challenging, vitally important questions concerning how to design a digital archive that can be accessed using multiple interfaces. Partners include educational (including tribal colleges) and cultural institutions, native Ojibwe scholars, digital media experts, and a distinguished advisory board. These collaborative partners are well positioned to develop one of the most culturally sensitive Native American archives ever built. This project will contribute significantly to how digital technology can be used to revise academic, museum, and library protocols regarding cultural sensitivity, and enhance teaching and learning with a commitment to honor the cultural sovereignty of the Ojibwe.

Associated Products

“Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities” (Article)
Title: “Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities”
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: This article raises the question of why the digital humanities seems to have returned to a focus on literary works by canonical American authors. The field of American Studies underwent a twenty year struggle at the end of the 20th century to try to increase cultural diversity and yet this emphasis on diversity seems to have been lost in the digital humanities. Our NEH ODH grant created a digital online archive entitled Gibagadinamaagoom, focused on the Ojibwe Indians which demonstrates that, in fact, digital technology lends itself remarkably well to conveying the Native American oral tradition.
Year: 2010
Primary URL: http://gibagadinamaagoom.info/
Primary URL Description: Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive is a website edited by Timothy B. Powell that contains materials related to Ojibwe culture from Penn Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, American Philosophical Society, National Archives, videos of Ojibwe wisdom keepers, etc. The site has been developed with the assistance of 2 NEH HITCU grants awarded to White Earth Tribal and Community College and Leech Lake Tribal College.
Secondary URL: https://ojibwearchive.sas.upenn.edu/
Format: Other
Periodical Title: Online Humanities Scholarship: The Shape of Things to Come (collection of essays)
Publisher: Rice University Press

“Encoding Culture: Building a Digital Archive Based on Traditional Ojibwe Codes of Conduct” (Article)
Title: “Encoding Culture: Building a Digital Archive Based on Traditional Ojibwe Codes of Conduct”
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: This article focuses on many of the issues raised in the NEH ODH grant: the question of how traditional Ojibwe codes of conduct should be reflected in the digital codes of the Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive website; freely available information on the web vs. restrictions based on cultural sensitivity; how the digital humanities can become more culturally diverse; the relationship between digital technology and the Native American oral tradition (e.g., that the oral tradition can actually be much more accurately represented in digital form than in print media).
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=etlc;idno=9362034.0001.001;rgn=full%20text;view=toc;cc=etlc;xc=1;g=dculture
Primary URL Description: The article was published in a collection of essays edited by Amy E. Earhart and Andrew Jewell and entitled ˆThe American Literature Scholar in the Digital Age" which was released as both a book and an online resource from the University Michigan's new online imprint DigitalCultureBooks.
Secondary URL: https://ojibwearchive.sas.upenn.edu
Secondary URL Description: Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive is a website edited by Timothy B. Powell that contains materials related to Ojibwe culture from Penn Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, American Philosophical Society, National Archives, videos of Ojibwe wisdom keepers, etc. The site has been developed with the assistance of 2 NEH HITCU grants awarded to White Earth Tribal and Community College and Leech Lake Tribal College.
Periodical Title: The American Literature Scholar in the Digital Age (collection of essays)
Publisher: DigitalCultureBooks, University of Michigan Press

Digitally Recovering the Native American Oral Tradition, the Lost History of American Literature (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: Digitally Recovering the Native American Oral Tradition, the Lost History of American Literature
Abstract: Talk focused on need for more cultural diversity in the digital humanities. I spoke about how our project involves Native American students from tribal colleges and Native American elders and language carriers. The knowledge possessed by elders can enhance metadata of libraries, museums, and archives. I gave examples of how NEH ODH grant has been used to enhance the understanding of the Native American collection at the American Philosophical Society, where I am the Director of Native American projects.
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Date: 05/26/11
Location: Digital Americanists section, American Literature Association conference Boston

“Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities” (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: “Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities”
Abstract: The talk was presented at the University of Virginia at a conference sponsored by Jerome McGann, featuring some of the most accomplished digital archive projects in the U.S. I spoke about the NEH ODH project and how we were exploring adding more cultural diversity to the digital humanities. I also spoke about the challenges of working in rural America and the digital divide that makes it difficult to provide access to rural, Native American communities.
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Date: 03/26/2010
Location: University of Virginia, "Online Humanities Scholarship: The Shape of Things to Come" conference
Primary URL: http://shapeofthings.org/
Primary URL Description: website with information about conference

“Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities” (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: “Negotiating the Cultural Turn in the Digital Humanities”
Abstract: Spoke about the use of Drupal as a way to allow Native American teachers, students, and elders to participate more fully in the development of the Gigabadinamaagoom website. Also addressed the issue of how NEH grants were allowing us to build partnerships between established institutions like Penn Museum and American Philosophical Society with tribal colleges in Indian Country.
Author: Bethany Nowviskie
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Date: 02/17/2010
Location: Center for New Designs in Learning and Scholarship, Georgetown University

Visiting Fellowship to UVA Scholar's Lab (Staff/Faculty/Fellow Position)
Name: Visiting Fellowship to UVA Scholar's Lab
Abstract: Gave a presentation to the Scholar's lab and met with UVA faculty in digital humanities to discuss the development of Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive. Was in residence for four days.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://www.gibagadinamaagoom.info
Primary URL Description: Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive is a website edited by Timothy B. Powell that contains materials related to Ojibwe culture from Penn Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, American Philosophical Society, National Archives, videos of Ojibwe wisdom keepers, etc. The site has been developed with the assistance of 2 NEH HITCU grants awarded to White Earth Tribal and Community College and Leech Lake Tribal College.

"The Digital Humanities Viewed From Indian Country" (White Paper for NEH ODH) (Report)
Title: "The Digital Humanities Viewed From Indian Country" (White Paper for NEH ODH)
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: Wrote about challenges faced during the period of NEH ODH grant. More specifically, focused on the digital divide that makes it difficult for Native American communities to obtain grants in digital humanities and problems with broad band access in Indian Country. Also wrote about need to raise consciousness concerning the lack of cultural diversity in digital humanities
Date: 4/1/2010

"Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive" (Report)
Title: "Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive"
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: A white paper for the NEH ODH recounting the activities during the grant period-- a conference at Minnesota Historical Society, dissemination of information, building partnerships between Penn Museum, American Philosophical Society, Minnesota Historical Society, White Earth Tribal and Community College, Leech Lake Tribal and Community College, Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College.
Date: 4/1/2010
Primary URL: https://ojibwearchive.sas.upenn.edu/
Primary URL Description: Gibagadinamaagoom: An Ojibwe Digital Archive is a website edited by Timothy B. Powell that contains materials related to Ojibwe culture from Penn Museum, Minnesota Historical Society, American Philosophical Society, National Archives, videos of Ojibwe wisdom keepers, etc. The site also has been developed with the assistance of 2 NEH HITCU grants awarded to White Earth Tribal and Community College and Leech Lake Tribal College.

"Steering a Course Set by Thomas Jefferson: New Developments in the Native American Collections at the American Philosophical Society." (Public Lecture or Presentation)
Title: "Steering a Course Set by Thomas Jefferson: New Developments in the Native American Collections at the American Philosophical Society."
Abstract: A talk on the history of the Native American collections at the American Philosophical Society. The APS recently accessioned all of the videos in the Gibagadinamaagoom website (the first time this distinguished archive, found by Benjamin Franklin, has ever accessioned videos of Native American culture).
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Date: 4/28/16
Location: American Philosophical Society Annual Meetings
Primary URL: http://http://diglib.amphilsoc.org/islandora/object/video%3A1305

Steering a Course Set by Thomas Jefferson: New Developments in Curating the Native American Collections at the American Philosophical Society (Article)
Title: Steering a Course Set by Thomas Jefferson: New Developments in Curating the Native American Collections at the American Philosophical Society
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: An article on the history of collecting Native American materials at the APS. The APS recently accessioned all of the videos in the Gibagadinamaagoom archive
Year: 2016
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society
Publisher: American Philosophical Society

"Connecting Native American Elders to Undergraduates: The Ojibwe Digital Archive Project," (Article)
Title: "Connecting Native American Elders to Undergraduates: The Ojibwe Digital Archive Project,"
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: Article about using Gibagadinamaagoom archive to teach undergraduates about the Native American oral tradition in relation to American literary history
Year: 2012
Primary URL: http://www.archivejournal.net/issue/2/three-sixty/undergraduates-in-the-archives/
Primary URL Description: On-line journal
Access Model: open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Archive Journal
Publisher: Archive Journal

“Encoding Culture: Building a Digital Archive Based on Traditional Ojibwe Codes of Conduct (Article)
Title: “Encoding Culture: Building a Digital Archive Based on Traditional Ojibwe Codes of Conduct
Author: Timothy B. Powell
Abstract: Article exploring the relationship between cultural protocols of the Ojibwe elder featured in many of the videos in the Gibagadinamaagoom archive and the digital codes embedded in the archive.
Year: 2011
Primary URL: http://http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/idx/e/etlc/9362034.0001.001/1:5/--american-literature-scholar-in-the-digital-age?g=dculture;rgn=div1;view=fulltext;xc=1#5.3
Primary URL Description: DigitalCultureBooks
Format: Other
Periodical Title: The American Literature Scholar in the Digital Age (edited collection)
Publisher: University of Michigan Press

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