(Re)Designing Technical Documentation About COVID-19 with and for Indigenous Communities in Gainesville, Florida, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico, and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala

Abstract

<italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Background:</b></i> In this article, we document how our team of translators, interpreters, technical communicators, and health justice workers is collaborating to (re)design COVID-19-related technical documentation for and with Indigenous language speakers in Gainesville, FL, USA; Oaxaca de Juarez, Mexico; and Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Literature review:</b></i> Although (mis)representations of Indigenous communities have been an ongoing issue in and beyond technical communication, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought added attention to how government institutions and other agencies fail to consider the cultural values, languages, and communication practices of Indigenous communities when writing, designing, and sharing technical information. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Research questions:</b></i> 1. How can technical communicators work toward social justice in health through collaborative design with Indigenous language speakers? 2. How can technical documentation about COVID-19 be (re)designed alongside members of vulnerable communities to redress oppressive representations while increasing access and usability? <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Methodology:</b></i> Through interviews and other participatory design activities conducted with Indigenous language speakers in the US, Guatemala, and Mexico, we illustrate how Western approaches to creating technical documentation, particularly in health-related contexts such as the COVID-19 pandemic, put communities at risk by failing to localize health messaging for Indigenous audiences. We then document our work intended to collaboratively design and translate COVID-19-related technical information alongside those Indigenous language speakers to benefit Indigenous language speakers in Gainesville and other parts of North Central Florida. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Results:</b></i> Through this discussion, we highlight how technical communicators can collaborate with Indigenous language speakers to create, translate, and share multilingual technical documents that can contribute to social justice efforts by enhancing language access. <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><b>Conclusion:</b></i> Through collaborations with Indigenous language speakers, translators, and interpreters, social/health justice projects in technical communication can be combined, localized, and adapted to better serve and represent the diversity of people, languages, and cultures that continue to increase in our world.