NEW YORK, NY—On August 9, Google invited Indigenous people across the world to take time to add local geographic and commercial features to its online maps. The company, in partnership with the National Congress of American Indians, made the day its first-ever Indigenous Mapping Day.
Participants had to have a Google account in order to edit or add to maps represented on the popular Google Maps and Google Earth. Participants also needed to be affiliated with the tribe whose community they planned to map.
Many U.S. tribal communities lack accurate mapping of roads, buildings and other services available to tribal members or the general public, said Sarah Beccio, a spokeswoman for the National Congress of American Indians.
“Basically, you can improve driving directions, enhance public safety or put tribal businesses on the map,” she said. “Also, you can identify areas that maybe shouldn’t be on a map; for instance, a store in the wrong place.”
Edits to Google maps can be made anytime, but Google chose today in honor of the U.N. International Day of the World’s Indigenous People.
The United States has more than 550 federally recognized tribes, some with reservations and some without tribal land. There are nine Sioux tribes in South Dakota, each with its own land.
Denise Mesteth, director of the Oglala Sioux Tribe Land Office on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, said better digital maps for her tribe’s land might help local businesses.
“We want our businesses to get noticed,” she said. It would help, for example, “being able to find places to eat while on the road with an iPhone, and this is an opportunity for the tribe to get that advertising.”
Mesteth said the tribe’s own geographic information system maps the reservation in detail. It’s not available online, but she’d like to work with Google to improve what’s open to the public.
Google says users can add buildings, landscapes and ATM locations but may not extend reservation boundaries. The mapping tool supports six tribal languages, including Navajo and Cherokee. Lori Savageau, Google Map Maker associate program manager, said Google’s goal is for people around the world to contribute their local knowledge for a more useful and comprehensive map for all.
