(In)Digitizing Cáuigú Historical Geographies: Technoscience as a Postcolonial Discourse

Abstract

The primary thesis of this essay is that technology and society co-construct one another. The dynamics of co-construction are often encountered by scholars who conduct research on the rights of indigenous peoples, indigenous knowledge, media, mapping, the social impacts of geographic information systems (GIS), science and technology studies, history of technology, indigenous linguistics, English, and film studies. We often find ourselves working ‘in-between’ dialogues, mediating indigenous geographies, negotiation research agendas, incorporating social theories, relying heavily upon the humanities, and representing geographies using digital technologies. For some of us, the projects are modest. Issues of data source uncertainty, how GIS handles temporal data, and the GIS leanings toward quantified data are all important issues. However, we are never removed from the web of colonial or postcolonial histories; reminded how cartographers, ethnographers, and historians constructed historical geographies for Indigenous people in the past; and the processes that contributed the historical condition of American Indians and how we should approach modern histories that involve researching and writing about Indigenous people. Some scholars have adopted frameworks that highlight the hybridity of systems, the blending of ideas, and contradictory spaces making up American Indian historical geographies.