Preserving the Past - Architecting a Cultural Memory Bank


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The human species and its environment share a fundamental interdependence.  The survival of the human species has depended on man’s intimate knowledge of his enviroment and how to manage it at a very fine-grained level.  This traditional knowledge (TK) has now been recognized as a crucial information resource in sustatainable development. Garth Harmsworth (1998) writes in Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor that "There is enormous potential for the use of TK to enhance our understanding of the environment, underpin culturally appropriate development opportunities, and provide a more holistic and integrated perspective for planning and policy in the 21st century."  Joe Tabor and Charles Hutchinson (1994) of the University of Arizona go further stating that "...development policy that unknowingly undermines or contradicts indigenous resources management strategies is unlikely to be sustainable." To harness this knowledge, Virginia Nazarea (1998) proposed "the parallel collection and documentation of indigenous knowledge and technology, including uses, preferences, and evaluation criteria associated with traditional varieties of crops."  This idea has been applied by the non-profit organisation Native Seeds/SEARCH (NSS) to develop the idea of the Cultural Memory Bank, a repository of information "to collect, record, and organize as much taxonomic, ecological, agronomic, horticultural, ethnobotanical and cultural history as we can about each of the crop varieties in our seed bank".   PDI has not only helped NSS computerize and manage its seed bank resources, but developed the technological framework for the CD-ROM, the Cultural Memory Bank of the Navajo Nation. We are currently working with NSS on a second version of this product.


You can view a short Flash demo of the basic structure of the Cultural Memory Bank. To view the demo you have to have the Abobe Flash plugin installed. Most browsers today have it installed by default.   If you do not have the plugin please visit the link below to get it


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References:
Harmsworth, G. 1998. Indigenous values and GIS: A method and a framework. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 6(3). Online: http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/6-3/harmsw.html. Accessed 13 January 2003.

Nazarea, V. 1998. Cultural memory and biodiversity. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press.

Tabor, J. and C. Hutchinson. 1994. Using indigenous knowledge, remote sensing and GIS for sustainable development. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor 2(1). Online: http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/2-1/articles/tabor.html. Accessed 13 January 2003.