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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counter-mapping | 3/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Counter-mapping | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T13:37:14.903817+00:00 | kb-cron |
We were no longer mapping the 'territories' of Aboriginal people based on the cumulative observations of others of where they were…but instead, mapping the Aboriginal peoples’ own recollections of their own activities. These maps played a fundamental role in the negotiations that enabled the Inuit to assert an aboriginal title to the 2 million km2 in Canada, today known as Nunavut. Counter-mapping is a tool by which indigenous groups can re-present the world in ways which destabilise dominant representations. Indigenous peoples have begun remapping areas of the world that were once occupied by their ancestors as an act of reclamation of land stolen from them by country governments. Indigenous peoples have begun this process all over the world from the Indigenous peoples from the United States, Aboriginal peoples from Australia, and Amazonian people from Brazil. The people of the lands have begun creating their own maps of the land in terms of the borders of the territory and pathways around the territory. When Native peoples first began this process it was done by hand, but presently GPS systems and other technological mapping devices are used. Indigenous maps are reconceptualizing the "average" map and creatively representing space as well as the culture of those who live in the space. Indigenous people are creating maps that are for their power and social benefit instead of the ones forced on them through different titling, and description. Indigenous peoples are also creating maps to adjust to the contamination and pollution that is present In their land. Specifically in Peru, Indigenous peoples are using mapping to identify problem areas and innovating and creating strategies to combat these risks for the future.
===== Perspectives on the land (United States) ===== White colonists saw land as property and a commodity to be possessed. As a result, as settlers grew in numbers and journeyed west, land was claimed and sold for profit. White colonists would “develop” the land and take ownership of it with disregards to Indigenous peoples who, on the other hand, saw themselves as connected with the land spiritually and as bound to the land. Land to Aboriginal people is a major part of their identity and spirituality. They see the land as being sacred and needing to be protected, and believe it is their responsibility to take care of it. As Marion Kickett states in her research, “Land is very important to Aboriginal people with the common belief of 'we don't own the land, the land owns us'. Aboriginal people have always had a spiritual connection to their land..." These differing perspectives on land caused many disputes during the era of Manifest Destiny and as white settler populations began to increase and move into Indigenous peoples’ territory and communities. The Indigenous people believed they were to serve the land while white colonists believed the land should serve them. As a result, when the two sides came in contact, they disputed over how to "claim" land. The height of this conflict occurred during Manifest Destiny as the white colonist population began this westward expanision.
===== The process of mapping (United States) ===== Maps represent and reflect how an individual or society names and projects themselves onto nature, literally and symbolically. Mapping, while objective, may be viewed politically as a method of control on territory. Mapmaking has thus both socio-cultural (myth-making) and technical (utilitarian and economic) functions and traditions. The differing boundaries and territories made by the White colonists and Indigenous people were vastly different, and expressed their views on the land and nature. Indigenous peoples' territory often ended at rivers, mountains, and hills or were defined by natural, geographical boundaries and/or relationships between different tribes, resources, and trade networks. The relationships between tribes would determine the access to the land and its resources. Unlike the rigid edges of the United States, borders on Indigenous peoples’ lands were more fluid and would change based on marriages between chiefs and their family members, hunting clans, and heredity. In Indigenous maps the landmarks would be drawn on paper and in some cases described. Detailed knowledge of the thickness of ice, places of shelter and predators were placed in maps to inform the user for what to look for when in the territory. Maps made by White colonists in America were first based on populations, and they created territories based on the edges of civilization. After the creation of the United States government, state land was designated by Congress and intended to be given equally by latitude and longitudinal coordinates. The ending of railroad tracks and crossings also designated the ending of one state to another, creating a fence-like boundary. In a special case, after the acquisition of the Louisiana Purchase, the United States had to decide between the territory where slavery was legal and where it was not. The Missouri Compromise was birthed as a result and a boundary line was created at the longitude and latitude lines of 36’30”. The states were documented by their coordinates and borders were made at the numbered locations. These numbered locations would stretch for miles and encompass all in that territory even if it belonged to Indigenous peoples’. That is often how land would be stolen from Indigenous peoples. The land that would be "claimed" by the United States Government would stretch across Indigenous lands without consideration of their borders. Indigenous peoples' lands were absorbed by the borders of America's newly mapped states and were forced out as a result. Their livelihoods and mythology tied to the land was also destroyed. White colonists claimed the land for their own and Indigenous peoples were no longer allowed to occupy the space. Another way was the differences in the way each group mapped the land. The United States Government would not recognize a Tribes territory without a map and most tribes did not have maps that were in the style of European maps, therefore they were ignored.