About the Project
The Guide to Indigenous Lands Digital Mapping Project, founded by Dr. Elizabeth Rule, is an initiative dedicated to the creation of mobile applications that map sites of Indigenous importance on lands across the present-day United States, Turtle Island, and beyond. The purpose of this project is to highlight contemporary as well as historic Indigenous communities, discuss Native contributions to the world, and encourage engagement with the natural and built environments surrounding us all. This public humanities and public history project offers mobile applications in both iOS and Android formats, all of which are free to download and directed toward a general readership.
A map depicting some of the sites featured in the Guide to Indigenous D.C.
Each Guide is created in close collaboration with scholars, members of the local Native community who have institutional knowledge of key events and locations, as well as historians specialized in the history of the region and individuals from the diasporic Indigenous community that lives and works in the area of the guide. This free educational resources provide an engaging entry point for people of all ages to learn about the history of Native and Indigenous peoples, and the integral role of Indigenous heritage in history and contemporary life. Intended to be representative and not exhaustive, sites also span temporal periods in order to disrupt the popular misconception that Native peoples are mere historical subjects--commonly advanced by the myth of the vanishing Indian--and instead promote awareness about Indigenous nations as contemporary peoples advocating for tribal issues in the 21st century.
About the Logo Design:
The Guide to Indigenous Lands Project logo was created by Quapaw artist Mackenzie Neal. The pointed mountain peaks are the central feature of this logo, signifying the earth and calling to mind several of the sacred mountain peaks that still play an important part in Indigenous ceremonies today. Two rows of small black triangles encircle the main shape, mirroring geometric symmetries commonly found in tribal weavings, paintings, and pottery. A vibrant, circular backdrop carries four bands of sunset colors emblazoned with three balanced stars, signaling the location of the sky while evoking imagery of modern-day ribbon skirts. Sweetgrass, a ceremonial plant significant to many Indigenous cultures and symbolizing peace, healing, and spirituality, is divided into three braided strands, representing the mind, body, and spirit.