http://iite.unesco.org/publications/3214689/

This website consists of vital information that will help me effectively develop my research paper.  The website presents the IITE Policy Brief report that acknowledges Indigenous people lack of access to information and communication technology resources which contributes to the digital exclusion they are faced with.  The paper highlights the challenges that contributes to this issue and also provide examples of models used across the globe that can be used by indigenous peoples to strengthen and reinforce indigenous knowledge and culture and provide more culturally responsive learning resources and environments for their children.

http://project.it.uts.edu.au/ipit/CulturalIssuesInIndigenousAustralianAdoptionOfICT.pdf

This website presents a paper that examines issues that Indigenous Australians face in relation to information and communications technology. The paper examines the impact of Western values on Indigenous people and also explores possible challenges that cause the low adoption rate of ICT use and implementation in indigenous communities.  In addition, the paper highlighted ways that ICTs are implemented in indigenous communities to help preserve and maintain their culture.

http://www.homelesshub.ca/ResourceFiles/Taylor_Social%20Media_feb2011%20%281%29_1_2.pdf

This website presents  the findings of research commissioned by the Horizontal Policy Integration Division (HPID) of HRSDC to determine “the extent, nature and benefits of social media use by five vulnerable populations – Aboriginal peoples, people with disabilities, recent immigrants, the homeless and seniors – and by the institutions that serve them, and to explore the extent to which such media help to overcome social isolation and barriers to inclusion in Canadian society”.  I find the section related to Aboriginal peoples use of ICT very helpful for my final research paper as it provides empirical data on the usage of social media by Aboriginals, it examines the benefits, challenges and concerns related to ICT usage and it also highlights different social media tools that are used by Aboriginals.

http://www.sit.polytechnic.edu.na/news/2011/09/20/it-system-support-indigenous-knowledge-preservation

This website highlight the step taken by Academics from the Polytechnic of Namibia to preserve indigenous knowledge using technology as they feared that indigenous knowledge may be lost as time passes.  They are of the view that there are many indigenous knowledge that are important and must be preserved such as telling of stories, which could be easily lost with the absence of elders since they are not recorded in text or electronically, hence the need to preserve these traditions with technology.

The researchers are looking at developing an indigenous knowledge management storage system for selected communities in Namibia as a proof of concept to be transferred to other communities later. It will be accessible to individuals who want to be up to date with their respectful community’s.  The initiative will also serve the village people with the means to upload/download recorded material on the indigenous knowledge system from anywhere within the village.

Beyond preservation: New directions for technological innovation through intangible cultural heritage

This website presents a three-phase model that can help to effectively preserve Indigenous traditions using digital media in meaningful ways.   There phases of the model are

1. Straightforward documentation of Indigenous traditions.  This step involves creating videos, animations, tutorials, booklets, and interactive websites etc.
2. Translation of Indigenous traditions into emerging technology and contemporary cultural modes of expression using tools such as youtube and facebook apps.
3. Application of principles of Indigenous traditions to develop new technologies such as 3D modeling, shared documents and cloud computing.

The article also highlights some opportunities and risks inherent in the digital preservation of indigenous knowledge.

http://pubs.iied.org/pdfs/G02843.pdf

It is the view of some Aboriginals that the younger generation have grown up in a wider society that fails to recognise the significance of their knowledge and maintaining their indigenous identity which has led to the apparent abandonment of Aboriginal culture in preference for a more dominant Western one.  Against this background, the Walkatjurra Cultural Centre, an Aboriginal organisation has taken on the mantle to explore how cost-effective web 2.0 initiatives can be used to revitalise indigenous culture and enhance community development.  In addition, this article highlights the outcomes of a community-based youth empowerment project involving university researchers and Aboriginal community members that was designed to help bridge the intergenerational knowledge divide.

http://capyi.vcn.bc.ca/post/1087736713/first-nations-and-the-digital-divide

The main purpose of this article is to outline initiatives that are employed to narrow the divide between remote First Nations communities and their access to new communication technologies. It also highlights several Community Access Program (CAP) sites such as the Tsawwassen First Nations Elders site, Tsawwassen First Nations Youth site, and the Kiwassa Neighborhood House that are integral in providing access to Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs), to those who face barriers to access.

The article offers examples of ways that aboriginal youth have adapted ICTs into their life which includes using digital media to  craft stories told by elders into films; children as young as ten years old have been learning how to use graphic design programs and build websites; younger members of communities are helping elders to record community history and access valuable information over the Internet, among others ways.

http://www.cdu.edu.au/centres/ik/pdf/DigTech_IndigPlaceAust.pdf

This article highlights discoveries made from a research project that was conducted to obtain information on ways that many Indigenous people in northern Australia use digital technologies in promoting the interests of their traditional groupings, their clan lands, histories, connections and places. In addition, the article examined the ways that Indigenous peoples use possibilities the technologies offered in producing seeming definitive representations to achieve political ends when dealing with representatives of mainstream Australia.

http://www.kta.on.ca/pdf/AboriginalCultureinaDigitalAge.pdf

This paper gives readers a general view on the implications that information and communication technologies has on aboriginals’ ways of living, thinking and knowing.  To inform the research, three major topics that directly affect Aboriginal peoples were examined.  These include the importance of culture and identity, the widespread reality of ICT and the transformative impact it is having on our everyday economic, social and cultural life and the preservation and protection of Aboriginal languages, ecology and heritage.

http://www.irma-international.org/viewtitle/23550/

This article provides a discussion on the uses of ICT in key areas fundamental to the continuing presence of the Badimaya culture.  ICT initiatives explored includes:

Geographical Information Systems- the Portal Framework

A vector-based map in a geographic information system (GIS) that was used to show where different generations of the Badimaya lived and what languages are spoken today by their descendants.

Multimedia Clips- Content Management

This was used to preserve the Badimaya language that many feared would be eventually lost with time.

Digital Document Archives- Knowledge Management

This technology was used to preserve many aspects of the the Badimaya culture. For example, surviving documents could be digitally scanned and made available for access.