Cybercartography and education: research and teaching with the Residential Schools Land Memory Atlas

Abstract

This paper sheds light on intersections between teaching and research in the Cybercartographic Residential Schools Land Memory Atlas (RSLMA), which is the central output of the Residential Schools Land Memory Mapping Project (RSLMMP). Building on previous work in Cybercartography, the RSLMMP has further contributed to the integration of research and education and the emergence of new research and education relationships. Viewing the atlas as a project output comprised of iterative processes along multiple dimensions allows us to appreciate limitations as challenges for further iterations, including new related projects and ongoing volunteer work with students. In addition to participating in the national response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action, this project – including the atlas – provides a model for a unique blend of teaching and research and the basis for further and new collaborations with a variety of different partners, including Residential School survivors. As a reconciliation project, the Residential Schools Land Memory Atlas further contributes to the intercultural bridge building aims of its parent, the Lake Huron Treaty Atlas, as it forges on in new directions.

Keywords

• cybercartography
• research
• teaching
• reconciliation
• reflexivity
• emergence
• indigenous peoples