Kalispels to unveil ambitious technological project

Tribal Access Network will make it possible for area tribes to electronically publish historical artifacts, culturally significant stories and language

Spokane, WA (PRWEB) September 27, 2003 --The Kalispel Tribe will unveil the flagship feature of a pioneering project for digital cultural preservation this Saturday, Sept. 27 at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture from 12 to 4 p.m.

The Tribal Access Network (TAN), an online, Web-based environment for the preservation, documentation and archiving of tribal culture, history and language for the Upper and Lower Plateau Tribes is slated to revolutionize how history and culture are communicated for tribes throughout the Northwest and the rest of the nation. Funding for the project comes from a three-year $505,000 Technology Opportunities Program (TOP) grant the Tribe received in late 2002 from the U.S. Department of Commerce

This project is very different than previous attempts to document tribal history, culture and language," Michael Holloman, director of the Center for Plateau Cultural Studies at the museum, said. It is essentially digitizing culturally significant information to help preserve a tribes culture and history, and it is presenting that information in a way that is unique to each participating tribes perspective."

The TAN will be a venue for tribal members and elders to share their own knowledge and narratives on their history and culture, Holloman added. Previous attempts to document tribal history and culture have done so through Euro-centric narrative.

Initially, the TAN will be accessible through three Technology Access Centers (TACs) that have already opened at the museum, the Kalispel Community Building in Usk and the Camas Institute Learning Center in Cusick, Washington. Contained at each center are public computer labs that provide users with access to networked high-speed computers, video and audio digital recording equipment, two-way video communication and high-speed Internet access. These centers will provide access to the TAN so tribal members can contribute content and stories for the network, and will also serve to provide training programs for participants on employing the technical skills required to use the technology at the TACs.

The TACs will also create a Web-based framework that enables educators to create curriculum grounded in the information about tribal culture, history and language.

Kalispel Tribal Council Chairman Glen Nenema said he hopes TACs will one day be available for tribes across the country.

The Tribal Access Network gives tribes all over the opportunity to tell their story and share their culture with the rest of the world," Nenema said. It also gives us the opportunity to preserve our story, culture and language for future generations."

Other partners in the TOP grant include: Star Nations, SIRTI, Camas Institute, Class101, Spokane Public Schools, Innovative Education Solutions and Cusick School District.

The Kalispel Tribe of Indians, also called the river/lake paddlers" or camas people," were semi-nomadic hunters, diggers and fishermen. The Kalispel Indian Reservation of 4,660 acres is located approximately 55 miles north of Spokane in Pend Oreille County along 10 miles of the Pend Oreille River. In 1996, the Tribe added 40 acres of trust land in Airway Heights, which is where the Tribes Northern Quest Casino is now located. Currently, the Tribe has 329 enrolled members, and is recognized as a sovereign nation by the federal government.
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