Maria and the rest of the list,
I deeply regret if my words or comments came off "racist"
"patronizing" or
"isolated". I re-read my writing multiple times before sending it, and just
intended on making a general statement about the work I'm interested in
exploring, without overwhelming the list. I am sorry if it failed.
I really appreciate hearing your thoughts and ideas about my research. I
recently presented my paper at the Indigenous Peoples and Museum conference
and had a few responses similar to yours, and a few positive responses on
the opposite side of the spectrum.
This is all an exploration, and an ongoing experience. Your words, and the
words of others similar, constantly remind me of my place and the interests
of some community members. As a Wikipedian, I am devoted to many aspects of
the community, including retention and encouraging new editors, and to know
that I have stifled that by coming off as "racist" and "isolationist"
goes
against what I am fighting for.
While I am not here to post my resume, tell you what I do for a living
outside of my work and schooling, share my experiences, and give a list of
who my friends are and friends aren't - I assure you that my intentions are
not meant to be purely selfish (all research is a bit selfish) and I never
intended on judging entire communities on a whole. In regards to being
"overlooked," I meant that in reference to Wikimedia Foundation being a
United States based organization focusing more so on international efforts.
To be honest, your email was a slap in the face. Thank you again for sharing
your thoughts, I take your letter very seriously.
-Sarah
On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 10:25 AM, Maria Alameda <m-alameda51(a)hotmail.com>wrote;wrote:
Hello all
I usually don't comment on mailing lists but a colleague of mine referred
me here. I wanted to comment on the issues related to Native-american
research raised earlier by Ms. Stierch. I found her outlook completely
isolated from the realities.
I would rather attribute her naivety to her limited view of the world as a
fresh graduate. Personally, it reminds me of a somewhat racist outlook
common among predominantly white-american graduates and students. While I
agree there is a need for more research related to Native american culture,
I really can't agree with the implication that Native american culture is as
overlooked as some unknown tribe in New Guinea.
I should be thankful for her enthusiasm but this is ridiculous. I'm happy
for her residency at National museum of American Indian(s) and her thesis or
even efforts to change certain policies on Wikipedia, but none of that is
connected with the much-larger cultural and race issues she's referring to.
While I wish her the best, I would hope she not use her thesis as an excuse
to comment on the realities of those cultural issues. Oral citation is just
one small aspect of a much larger culture she learnt in school.
I might be too sensitive here, but if her comments were to be applied to
african-american culture in the United States coming from a female
white-undergraduate student pursuing her masters, her comments on the plight
and the issues of an entire race would seem rather patronizing. Perhaps, its
just me.
Maria AlamedaM.A, Ph.d (Native American studies)
Date: Wed, 27 Jul 2011 19:26:16 +0530
From: whothith(a)gmail.com
To: foundation-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
Subject: Re: [Foundation-l] Oral Citations project: People are Knowledge
Hi Sarah
I just love the narcissism in this email. I really want to comment but I
don't want to be called a troll again......maybe later.
Much love
Elizabeth
On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 6:36 PM, Sarah Stierch <sarah.stierch(a)gmail.com
wrote:
> Hi all -
>
> I came across a lighter version of this conversation on another
Wikimedia
> list, and felt the need to share my similar
thoughts and statements
that I
> made previously.
>
> For the past year, I have been examining opportunities involving
Indigenous
> communities of North America and
opportunities to utilize Wikipedia and
> related websites as an affordable, unique and global form of cultural
> preservation. I have my undergraduate in Native American Studies, and I
am
> obtaining my masters currently. My final
paper (not quite a thesis) for
> graduation will be a strong examination of the opportunities related to
> Indigenous communities and opportunities/pros/cons related to
Wikipedia.
> I'm
> actually presenting on my preliminary observations and concerns at
> Wikimania, you can learn a bit more here:
>
>
>
http://wikimania2011.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Wikimedia_%26_Indigenou…
>
> In the United States, as far as I am aware, I am the only person
thinking
> about this on a higher level. While right
now I am quite busy with
other
> matters, come this Fall I will be diving
head first into my research. I
> will
> be serving as Wikipedian in Residence at the National Museum of the
> American
> Indian, where I will be working with staff to examine these concerns.
One
> of our biggest concerns lies with *oral
history*. We have had countless
> conversations about the struggles with "no original research" however,
in
> oral history based societies, we will have a
very hard time moving
beyond
> anything else. As stated previously, the
majority of content created
> related
> to Indigenous communities in North America was often written by (and
still
> is) Anglo anthropologists - some of that
data is highly out of date and
is
> still being utilized on Wikipedia as a
source today.
I am not certain what higher level you are referring to but I assure
you,
you are not the only one thinking about this in the entire country or the
continent.
>
> This project, Oral Citations, follows closely with the type of work I
am
> seeking to do. I have been planning to
examine Wikipedia (English at
first)
> research policies and consider proposals or
changes in relation to
serious
> research and Indigenous communities. Of
course, it all comes down to
> funding, and Native people of North American are often the first
overlooked
> group - it will take a lot of work, years of
effort, and a lot of buy
in
> that is needed to be gathered from inside
the community itself.
>
> I'm babbling right now, but, this is a very passionate topic for me. I
see
> Wikipedia as providing an affordable and
unique way for Indigenous
> communities to not only learn valuable skills - many of the communities
> here
> in America are among the poorest in the world, you'd think you were in
a
> developing country, and kids barely receive
beyond an elementary school
> education - but to have a broad arena to share stories (that the
community
> chooses to share of course), beliefs,
cosmologies, and traditions so
that
> they are accessible and *vetted* for
researchers and community members
> around the world.
>
> I do hope that some of you are attending Wikimania, I'd like to be able
to
> have a break out session of sorts or an
unconference to discuss this
topic
> further. I'm hoping in the next year to
have an international
conference of
> sorts that brings together Indigenous
people, open source gurus, and
> Wiki-folks to examine opportunities, processes, and belief systems in
> regards to opportunities.
>
> Feel free to email me directly, again, right now I am unable to move
> quickly
> in any major projects due to my already big work load, but, I'm hoping
that
> this will be large part of my career work as
an advocate for Native
rights,
> a scholar, and an open source-lover.
>
> -Sarah
> [[w:en:User:SarahStierch]]
>
> On Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 8:32 AM, CasteloBranco <
> michelcastelobranco(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > And why does the people who speaks Malayalam, Hindi and Sepedi need
to
> > write in English in order to have those
oral citations published?
> > English is not as universal as some people think. I guess we need to
> > find an answer in their own language, so the solution won't be
another
> > barrier. Also, the escope of this
project is much more important for
the
> > projects on these languages, and for
speakers of these languages,
rather
> > than the English Wikipedia or its
readers.
> >
> > But that's just me.
> >
> > Castelo
> >
> >
> > Em 26/07/2011 16:16, whothis escreveu:
> > > Looks like an excellent waste of effort.
> > >
> > > Maybe the problem of publishing non-publishable oral sources
occurred
> to
> > > someone on the team. Anyway the english wikipedia seems to be the
> > > appropriate place for your original research. I can't wait to read
all
> > about
> > > it.
> > >
> > > I still think a research project in emesis in the global south or
> > something
> > > would have suited english wikipedia better but that's just me.
> > >
> > > Your fan
> > >
> > > Elizabeth
> > >
> > >
> > > On Sat, Jul 23, 2011 at 2:38 PM, Achal Prabhala<
aprabhala(a)gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > >> Dear friends,
> > >>
> > >> At the beginning of 2011, a group of us began working on a project
to
> > >> explore alternative methods of
citation on Wikipedia. We were
> motivated
> > >> by the lack of published resources in much of the
non-Anglo-European
> > >> world, and the very real
difficulty of citing everyday aspects of
> lived
> > >> reality in India and South Africa.
> > >>
> > >> We are now at a stage where the project is almost complete, and
we'd
> > >> like to share our work with
the broader movement, especially
within
> > >> India and South Africa.
> > >>
> > >> There are three languages we worked within: Malayalam, Hindi and
> Sepedi.
> > >>
> > >> The project page documents the process and logistics employed, as
well
> > >> as the findings and results:
> > >>
> > >>
http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Research:Oral_Citations
> > >>
> > >> A film made on the project is available here:
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> >
>
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People-are-Knowledge.ogv?withJS=Medi…
> > >>
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:People-are-Knowledge.ogv
> > >> or
> > >>
http://vimeo.com/26469276
> > >>
> > >> There have been discussions on oral citations for some time now
within
> > >> the language communities we
worked with for the duration of the
> project.
> > >> At this stage, we are really interested in *your* feedback, either
on
> > >> this list, or on the
Discussion section of the project page.
> > >>
> > >> There are still some things to come, namely:
> > >>
> > >> - Updates on events, meetings and discussions held around the
project
> > >> (as they happen)
> > >> - Updates on articles created in Malayalam, Hindi and Sepedi as a
> result
> > >> of the project (as they happen)
> > >> - English transcripts of the interviews and a full English
subtitle
> > track
> > >> for further translation (we could use some help here).
> > >>
> > >> We would be very grateful to hear your feedback, and begin a
broader
> > >> discussion.
> > >>
> > >> Best wishes,
> > >> Achal
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> _______________________________________________
> > >> foundation-l mailing list
> > >> foundation-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > >> Unsubscribe:
>
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
> > >>
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> > _______________________________________________
> > foundation-l mailing list
> > foundation-l(a)lists.wikimedia.org
> > Unsubscribe:
https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/foundation-l
--
GLAMWIKI Partnership Ambassador for the Wikimedia
Foundation<http://www.glamwiki.org>
Wikipedian-in-Residence, Archives of American
Art<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:SarahStierch>
and
Sarah Stierch Consulting
*Historical, cultural & artistic research & advising.*
------------------------------------------------------
http://www.sarahstierch.com/
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GLAMWIKI Partnership Ambassador for the Wikimedia
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Wikipedian-in-Residence, Archives of American
and
Sarah Stierch Consulting
*Historical, cultural & artistic research & advising.*
------------------------------------------------------