Geographic Information Networks in American Indian Governments and Communities

Abstract

This article describes advantages and disadvantages of federal government centralized geographic information networks and decentralized peer-to-peer geographic information networks as they pertain to North American Indian tribal governments and communities. Geographic information systems (GIS) are used by indigenous groups for natural resource management, land claims, water rights, and cultural revitalization activities on a global-scale. North American groups use GIS for the same reasons, but questions regarding culturally appropriate GIS, cross-cultural understandings of geographic knowledge, and cultural assimilation through Western digital technologies have been raised by scholars. Two network models are germane to American Indian government operations and community organizations. The first is a prescriptive top-down network emanating from federal government agencies. Federal agencies are responsible for the diffusion of nationwide GIS programs throughout indigenous communities in the United States. A second, potentially more inclusive model is a decentralized peer-to-peer network in which all nodes are responsible for the success of the network.