title: THE REMATRIATION PROJECT: Building Capacity for Community Digital Archiving in Northwest Alaska
creators: Erin Yunes Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq Kara Long
abstract: Directed by an Inuit-led and serving tribal organization, Aqqaluk Trust, in the frontline hub-community of Kotzebue, Alaska, the Rematriation Project: Restoring and Sharing Inuit Knowledges aims to create capacity for and access to digital archives related to Inuit cultural, tribal, and scientific knowledges and history to assist tribes and communities in developing localized, culturally appropriate approaches and solutions to their needs. In partnership with a team of scholars from Virginia Tech (itself led by an Iñupiaq scholar from Kotzebue)—the goal of this project is to empower Indigenous communities through the lens of Indigenous data and research sovereignty to collect, control, interpret, and benefit from data that originates from their communities. The Rematriation Project operates on a foundation of community-first, community-led decision making that emphasizes Indigenous Data Sovereignty practices. This paper outlines the goals and initiatives of the first phases of the project.
keywords: community archives preservation indigenous data sovereignty capacity building equitable research