All Strings Attached: Negotiating Relationships of Geographic Information Science

Human geography has driven substantive improvements in methodologies and applications of G eographic I nformation S ystems ( GISs ), yet I ndigenous groups continue to experience erasure in geographic representations. GIS ontologies comprise categorised labels that represent lived contexts, and these ontologies are determined through the shared worldviews of those labelling spatial phenomena for entry into GIS databases. Although W estern ontologies and spatial representations reflect W estern understandings of human experience, they are often inappropriate in I ndigenous contexts. In efforts to be represented in courts and land management, I ndigenous groups nevertheless need to engage W estern spatial representations to ‘claim space’. This paper examines what GISs are and do and shows that GIS technology comes with strings attached to the myriad social contexts that continue to shape the field of GIS cience. We show that I ntellectual P roperty R ights A greements can sever and control these ‘strings’; the agreement between the Y orta Y orta N ation A boriginal C orporation and university researchers reframes GIS from a technology of erasure to a technology of opportunity that enables I ndigenous groups to define their own engagement. The visual and narrative outputs will contribute important understandings of the environmental crisis facing the M urray– D arling B asin and connect older and younger generations through knowledge sharing. We conclude the application of GIS cience is never simply technological but always has potential to empower particular communities. Applying GIS technology to new circumstances is an engagement of new relationships in the social praxis of technology transfer, where worldviews meet and negotiations are made over what exists and how we know.