CAREER: Three-Dimensional Modeling and Digital Repatriation of Arctic Indigenous Heritage in the Bering Strait Region of Alaska

This CAREER project undertakes the first systematic three-dimensional (3D) modeling and digital repatriation of Alaska Native cultural heritage from the Bering Strait region of Alaska. Employing innovative and collaborative modes of community engagement, the PI examines how digital 3D models of cultural heritage objects are viewed relative to the originals housed in distant museums.

Working with Alaska Native partners, and museum personnel, this project will train both Midwestern community college students and Alaska Native undergraduates in the design and implementation of collaborative research, digital technologies, and 3D modeling. The project will produce the first readily available collection of 3D models of Alaska Native cultural heritage and develop a plan for providing Indigenous communities across the country with access to distant museum collections.

Undergraduate students and Alaska Native interns will review the Arctic collections of the four partnering museums in preparation for an on-line workshop to select objects for 3D modeling. Following training on the use of 3D technologies for digital repatriation, student participants will conduct collections research, literature review, and ethnographic interviews.

During the museum-based component of the project, selected objects will be scanned and modeled; the process will be video recorded for educational use by Indigenous organizations, museum staff, and in college courses developed by the PI. Project partners and student participants will present workshops in Alaska communities and collaboratively develop a digital exhibit of scanned objects.

Working with university partners, the PI will also develop and produce a series of open-access videos that explain the basics of 3D modeling and scanning procedures. The video series will include interviews focusing on collaborative work with Indigenous communities and address ethical issues of digital heritage preservation.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.