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Opportunities, challenges, and lessons learned from researching the Atlas of Kanien’kehá:ka Space

The panel will discuss their contributions to the creation of the Atlas of Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk) Space, an online map of Kanien’kehà:ka placenames intended to revitalize Indigenous language and enrich our experiences and understandings of these spaces. The session will focus on qualitative methodologies and their application in work with Indigenous communities, highlighting both opportunities and challenges in aligning Western research methods with Indigenous knowledge systems. Situated at the intersection of geography, linguistics, and Indigenous Studies, the Atlas has its roots in research by Dr. Rebekah Ingram through which she built deep relationships within her research community and engaged with the Geographics and Cartography Research Centre (GCRC) at Carleton University. Dr. Ingram has continued to evolve the concept of placename mapping as a significant language and culture revitalization tool. Research for the Atlas was conducted within the communities of Akwesasne, Kahnawà:ke, Kehntè:ke (Tyendinega) and Wahta over a period of 5 years and included summer camps for youth, workshops for all ages, and fieldwork with individual knowledge holders. Original concepts were refined and new understandings developed on how the Atlas can be used as a significant teaching tool as well as a centralized repository of community history and culture.