English: This panel discusses the opportunities and challenges of developing indigenous content in the wikimedia environment. It focuses on the following questions: what does it mean for indigenous people to share “the sum of their knowledge” in a digital environment? What opportunities do they see in wikimedia projects for education and language preservation? Considering that indigenous cultures traditionally rely on oral transmission, how to document sources and references? And how to find ways to combine free licenses and protection of sensitive material?

The discussion is based on the results of the project Wikipetia Atikamekw Nehiromowin. It is a joint initiative of members of the Atikamekw community (a Canadian First Nation), Wikimedia Canada, and academic researchers (Institut national de la recherche scientifique and Université du Québec en Outaouais). The aim of this project is to increase the presence of the Atikamekw knowledge, culture and language on Wikimedia projects by developing a Wikipedia in the Atikamekw language, and uploading documents such as archive pictures and maps about the Atikamekw culture and history on Wikimedia Commons. The long term impact of this project is to also document good practices and develop a toolkit allowing reproduction and scaling to similar projects with other Canadian Indigenous communities.

The Atikamekw nation is established on an ancestral territory of 80 000 km2 in central Quebec. Up until the 1950s, the Atikamekw Nehirowisiw maintained a semi-nomadic and autonomous way of life, based on hunting, gathering and fur trade. Their system of knowledge is rooted in a symbiotic relationship with the forest. Some of this knowledge is considered "common knowledge", and may freely be shared with all. Other is considered "specific" to a family or an individual (e.g. crafts, maps of resources), or "sacred" and secret (e.g. use of medicinal plants). Among Canadian First Nations, the Atikamekw community has one of the best preserved usages of its native language with nearly 6,600 speakers (95% of its total population).

https://wikimania2017.wikimedia.org/wiki/Submissions/Indigenous_Knowledge_on_Wikipedia:_Lessons_Learned_from_the_Project_Wikipetia_Atikamekw_Nehiromowin