The impact of IT on indigenous peoples
| Date | 01 October 2003 |
| Published date | 01 October 2003 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/02640470310501412 |
| Pages | 411-413 |
| Author | Loriene Roy,David Raitt |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
The impact of IT on
indigenous peoples
Loriene Roy and
David Raitt
The idea for this Special Issue of The
Electronic Library on the ``Impact of
information technologies (IT) on indigenous
peoples'' stemmed from participation at the
Library and Information Association of New
Zealand Aotearoa (LIANZA) Annual
Conference in Wellington in November 2002.
The Conference had many diverse sessions
and papers on all aspects of library and
information matters ± including several
presentations on the importance and
preservation of tribal archives and the
digitization of cultural heritage. New Zealand
has a rich and colourful history with the
Maori, or indigenous people, being a very
integral part of New Zealand society, culture
and life. However, in many countries
throughout the world, indigenous
communities are not always in a position to
have access to information and
communication technologies (ICT) and
consequently do not benefit from the
resources and knowledge available.
Indigenous peoples around the world do
not reside in some primitive and romantic
past. Theirs are living cultures where
community members maintain, recover, and
rediscover cultural expressions in language
and traditional lifeways. Native people are
establishing new economies and affirming and
protecting treaty rights. They are
participating in establishing political and
information policy to help guide actions in
modern life. Along with this cultural
revitalization, native communities have
started to take control over physical and
intellectual access to their cultural material.
Evidence of a community-based cultural
focus is the current proliferation of tribal
cultural centres being constructed across
tribal homelands. These multi-purpose
facilities serve as museum, visitors' centre,
records centre, library, educational centre,
and/or tribal archives.
Many of the new tribal economies and
cultural expressions are dependent on tribal
members using technology. These skills are in
opposition to the historical use of
technologies by non-indigenous colonizing
cultures as part of their arsenal to control and
assimilate native peoples. Tribal people have
long responded to the introduction of new
methods and materials by adopting and
adapting them to accommodate their needs.
Tribal people in North America developed
unique decorative designs using glass beads
The authors
Loriene Roy is a Professor in the School of Information,
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA and
David Raitt is the Editor of
The Electronic Library.
Keywords
Information exchange, Ethnic minorities, Internet, History,
Self development
Abstract
This Special Issue of
The Electronic Library
on the ``Impact
of information technology on indigenous peoples'' gathers
articles from several different countries and cultures in an
effort not only to highlight the difficulties faced by
indigenous peoples with accessing the Internet or using
computers, but also to show how they are aiming at self-
determination and supporting their goals as sovereign
nations, as well as preserving their heritage. The articles,
in most cases specially written for this Issue, illustrate
how tribal nations are using information technology to
explore their culture, document these efforts, and share
elements of their perspectives with the larger world.
Electronic access
The Emerald Research Register for this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is
available at
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/0264-0473.htm
Editorial
411
The Electronic Library
Volume 21 .Number 5 .2003 .pp. 411-413
#MCB UP Limited .ISSN 0264-0473
DOI 10.1108/02640470310501412
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