Looking through Esri's Story Map Gallery I chose to explore the map:
This map drew my interest because I am a lover of wild salmon and work within the salmon fishing industry. Further this map was created as a collaborative effort lead by Wildlife Conservation Society of Canada with input from First Nation's people living along the river's expanse.
Because of the collaborative nature of this map, the data was co-produced by the WCS and Native elders who were able to fill in quantitative data gaps with storytelling and oral histories of lived experience. It is important to recognize First Nations people as authoritative sources on information about their traditional home lands.
Information was gathered via interview using ethnographic methods and then complied spatially by WSC. The result was a map of both current and traditional territories of the First Nations people as well as observed salmon spawning grounds. A final element the was represented spatially was the proposed road cut and mining projects which may have the potential to negatively impact salmon spawning rounds and limit indigenous community access to this traditional resource. Having worked as a part of a cultural mapping project myself I am familiar with the activist element these types of maps can and must incorporate.
The story map includes imagery of both quantitative and qualitative science methods, direct quotes from Native elders, video depicting methods and the interactive map described above. The story map goes on to map "conservation priorities" as well as the same space but with data that represents water quality as tested by the WCS field team.
This was an interested project and I liked that both photos and video were included. Photos and quotes highlighting the lived experience of the First Nations people gave this story map a special element in my opinion as oral histories and lived knowledge are rarely represented on popular maps due to their qualitative nature. I though the story map could have been more eye catching overall and some elements were not aligned as well as they could have been which resulting in a bit of distraction from the important text.
The interactive map was created by Meg Southee. The project was funded by the Yukon River Panel Restoration & Enhancement Fund and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
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