Final Project: Source Documentation

Emerson
Thu, 03 Nov 2022 16:48:55 +0000
Week 8, Arb Mapping

2016 Arboretum Map

The 2016 Arboretum Map can be downloaded in PDF form. While Carleton owns and created the material, it is on the Carleton website and not under a sign-in wall in the ways Stalkernet and the Hub are, making it viewable by the general public. Because it is public access and public information, we believe that we should be able to use this map as a reference point without legal issues. There does not appear to be any sensitive information that needs to be removed, as this is a brochure that is accessible by the general public. We will use this map to add information on trail location, trail material, topography, location of wildlife, and more.

USGS Topographic Map and My Open Country

For trail symbols and organization (material, use, etc) we will use resources such as the official United States Geological Survey (USGS) topographic map, which contains information on trail and topographic symbols. This information is published as a PDF online resource, so it is available for public use, and actually encourages sharing for educational purposes. We will also use maps photographed by Keiran James Cunningham in his article “Navigation Training: Topographic Map Symbols And Colors”, which is part of a public blog and therefore ethical and open for free use.

MnTOPO

MnTOPO allows anyone to download topographic data via a zip file of shapefiles, which can easily be uploaded to ArcGIS and displayed there. We downloaded contour data in shapefile form and imported it into ArcGIS, so no data manipulation was necessary. MnTOPO’s data is publicly available. Given that this data comes directly from the shape of the earth, there aren’t many ethical considerations or sensitive information depicted.

ArcGIS layers

ArcGIS allows users to see different features overlayed onto our base map. We are utilizing a topographic map layer. This topographic layer is available within Carleton’s gis layer system. We should be aware that this is a Carleton specific layer and should not be shared with the general public unless we are given permission to do so.

Carleton’s Arb Archive (and our own photos)

We may use some photos from Carleton’s archives, and we may take our own photos of some locations in the Arb. Again we will make sure that we do not share photos or any data from the Carleton archives that is not already available to the public. Most of the photos in the archive relating to the Arboretum are allowed to be used for educational purposes, so we shouldn’t have to worry about privacy there.

Ethical Note: History of the Wahpekute

An ethical consideration of Arb trails was the disturbing Wahpekute band of Dakota sacred sites and burial mounds. Documentation of such sites could be helpful, but could also lead to vandalization. According to the 2016 map, “No significant native artifacts or sites have been found [in the Arb]…” This sentence does of course raise the question of what “significant” means. As the Arb is revitalized and restored to its pre-colonization state, it is also important to consider the deaths that have occurred because of that colonization and Dakota access to the Arb today. There is a trail that was used by the Wahpekute band, which was documented by Charles Umbanhowar (‘85) and faculty member Paul Jensen. We aim to note this trail either on the map, on our website, or both. We also aim to create a page on the website about this trail and some Wahpekute band history. Carleton students Grace Brindle, Kyle Gilbert, Rahul Kirkhope made the website “History of the Wahpekute” for a 2021 “Historians for Hire” project using ArcGIS. This website is also public access, so we can use that website as a resource for adding history and context. We will likely use this as an acknowledgement resource as opposed to an in depth history, as there is already a group doing that.