You're invited to the Interference Archive for an Wikipedia Editathon on Sunday, November 13, 2016!
In honor of Indigenous People’s Day and Anti-Thanksgiving, we are holding a Wikipedia Edit-a-thon on the theme of Indigenous peoples’ movement histories. We will provide tutorials for beginners, reference materials, best practices for writing, and refreshments. Join us to help improve Wikipedia's coverage of Indigenous communities and social justice!
Everyone interested in addressing Wikipedia's coverage gap and learning more about Indigenous people's justice and archival collections at Interference Archive.
No experience editing Wikipedia is required! In fact, one of the best things about Wikipedia edit-a-thons is having an opportunity to learn as a community. Experienced Wikipedians will be around to help out, and we'll be starting the edit-a-thon with a brief tutorial to cover the basics.
We will start with a brief training session for new contributors, but come anytime! We'll have people available to help out and answer questions the whole time.
What you should bring:
Technology:Please remember to bring a laptop! We are unable to provide computers for you to use, but there will be plenty of outlets and fast wifi.
Cost: Free
Snacks: Provided
Contact:
Nora Almeida is a librarian, volunteer at Interference Archive, and aspiring Wikipedian. Napplicable (talk)
Donations to support the #NODAPL movement: We will be accepting donations to support the Sacred Stone, Oceti Sakowin, and Red Warrior Camps at the event. Please see the following lists of needed supplies and links to donate:
Across settler-colonial geographies, Indigenous peoples’ histories have largely been misrepresented. This misrepresentation has enabled and concealed acts of violence against Indigenous peoples in many forms – from environmental contamination to forced relocation. In an effort to learn from and support the myriad movements that have arisen in response to this violence, we will glean relevant information from the Interference Archive to share through Wikipedia. Our objective is to make information and documentation related to Indigenous peoples’ movement histories more accessible for current and future movement makers, educators, and learners.
Some people come to edit-a-thons with a list of ideas for topics to write about. Many people do not, or find that the topics they intended to write about are already covered on Wikipedia. We've collected a list of possible articles to write or expand upon below. The list is based in part on curated materials from the Interference Archive collections, and you're welcome to look through the other content on hand to look for source material or inspiration.
A good rule of thumb is to be as specific as possible across the board.
If possible, use the name of the specific Indigenous nation, rather than general terms.
When writing about issues that concern multiple Indigenous nations, use language such as “Indigenous peoples” or “Indigenous peoples of [region/country]“ rather than terms such as “Native American,” “Indian,” or “Aboriginal.”
Using the above terms is fine if you are quoting material.
Terminology in Canada
Do not use terms such as “eskimo” unless quoting material. The appropriate terms are "Inuit" (Canada), "Inuipiat" (Northern Alaska), and "Yupik" (Eastern Siberia and Alaska).
Métis Nation = those with mixed Euro-american and First Nations ancestry, from around the Saskatchewan and Red rivers. (Note: The limitations of Métis ancestry is still hotly debated)
First Nations = accepted general term for Indigenous peoples of Canada who are not Métis or Inuit.
Geographical terms
When possible, use the Indigenous term for a place rather than the Euro-western name. For clarity, put the Euro-western name in parenthesis. For example: “Mannahatta" (Manhattan)
In movement literature, it’s common for North America to be called “Turtle Island.” For clarity, you may want to put “North America” in parenthesis when referencing material that includes the term “Turtle Island.”
There is no one term for the North American continent across Indigenous nations. For instance, the Inuit have a different term than the Anishinaabe. Therefore, it’s best to use the term that is relevant to the nation you are writing about.
Referencing
If you need additional references to support your claims, prioritize finding references written by Indigenous folks before non-Indigenous folks.
Some great Indigenous researchers and writers that you may wish to reference include: Mishuana Goeman, Jolene Rickard, Candice Hopkins, Wanda Nanibush, Glen Coulthard, Kim Tallbear, Vine Deloria, Eve Tuck, Zoe Todd, Linda Smith, Leanne Simpson, Audra Simpson, Winona LaDuke, Jeff Corntassel, Dylan Miner, Ned Blackhawk, Taiaiake Alfred, Kathleen E. Absolon.
Remember that Wikipedia is a collaborative project! If you only have time to write a few sentences, do some copyediting, or add some citations, that's still a big help. It makes an improvement and gets the ball rolling for someone else to pick up where you left off. You can also keep working on it later, when you get home, or on your next trip to the Interference Archive, if you want. This event is just as much about communal learning as it is about adding content to Wikipedia.
Note: Once you have a Wikipedia account, if you have signed up on Facebook, please add your username here as well by clicking the "sign up" button above.