Traditional knowledge fits into geographic mapping

There is a place for traditional knowledge when it comes to geographic information and system mapping.
So said Karen Peterson, manager of traditional ecological knowledge and land-use studies at Neggahneewin College. She spoke during the Matawa Environmental Conference for Northern Ontario Oct. 28 in Thunder Bay.
With so much emphasis being put on land-use planning, Peterson said it is important to use community members in the process to incorporate the traditional past.
“Good quality research can be used effectively to make land management decisions in the North,” she said.
In the case of traditional ecological knowledge, it is gained through lived experience, she said.
“It is passed from generation to generation through storytelling and observation,” Peterson said. “It is part of the (First Nations) culture and an active form of learning.”
What makes the data valid is knowledge of past and present land use activities, knowing the zones of influence and what the culturally sensitive sites are.
By taking the information of the Elders, that data can be tracked with geographic information system (GIS) mapping into written documentation.
“This is all part of community development,” she said. “By taking the oral history and mapping it through GIS, it helps build community capacity.”