This presentation discusses the creation of an open-accessed living digital platform based on the Evenki toponymic database and vernacular cartographic material. The Evenki language is classified as one of the Tungusic languages. Among Indigenous communities, Evenki people have the biggest in Eurasia area of distribution which stretches from Western Siberia in the west to the Okhotsk Sea in the east, from Taymyr Peninsula in the north to the steppe region of Buryatia in the south. Research has long shown the importance of place names (toponyms) and distinct cartographic traditions among Indigenous people around the globe. Yet in research on Indigenous cartography toponyms are still considered separately from mapping. Additionally, Indigenous members do not always have access to their archival cartographic and toponymic materials. The goal of our project was to develop a flexible tool of representing Indigenous place names knowledge and to enable Indigenous communities, first of all Siberian Evenki, to contribute, share and exchange their knowledge here-and-now. It was also aimed at providing Indigenous communities with access to their cartographic and toponymic heritage collected by Russian researchers over the past century.  

Please note the new room number.

 The Natural Resources & Environmental Studies Institute (NRESi) at UNBC hosts a weekly lecture series at the Prince George campus. Anyone from the university or wider community with interest in the topic area is welcome to attend. Go to http://www.unbc.ca/nres-institute/colloquium-webcasts to view the presentation remotely.

Past NRESi colloquium presentations and special lectures can be viewed on our video archive, available here.

Please Note: NRESi colloquium presentations this semester will be available to attend both in-person as well as online. However, those wishing to attend in-person must wear a mask as per Provincial Health Officer (PHO) orders and University policy. Thank you for your understanding.