To contact the Storyscape Project, please call 415-752-8678 or email pklasky@igc.org

--Otis Parrish, Kashaya Pomo elder

Indigenous stories, songs and languages, the cultural treasures of native peoples, are vanishing at an alarming rate. Oral literatures are disappearing as older generations pass on and young people feel the pressure of assimilation into the dominant society through cultural, political and economic colonization and homogenization. Also threatened are the storehouses of ethnobiological knowledge on the healing properties of natural resources, harmonious ways of living with the natural world and time-tested sustainable land management practices.

Due to the effects of colonization, indigenous peoples have lost most of their aboriginal lands, and with them the foundation for their sustenance and identity. Working directly with and at the invitation of native communities, the Storyscape Project aims to help preserve oral literature and cultural and ecological landscapes in a process that empowers traditional communities to protect their way of life. By establishing the cultural significance of traditional grounds through ethnographic evidence, indigenous communities can defend their lands against exploitation and environmental hazards and develop a foundation for land acquisition, access and management.

Audio and Film Recordings
Through audio and film recordings of stories, songs and language, and through cultural mapping of traditional and sacred sites, indigenous communities can preserve their traditional knowledge for their own purposes. Some indigenous communities may want to archive or make public their cultural resources, others may want to use the recordings for their own purposes without public exposure. For those communities working with the Storyscape Project, the choice is theirs.

The Storyscape Project has a fully equipped sound studio and a qualified team of field ethnographers and cultural activists. One of our current projects has been the restoration, recording and translation of the ancient songs of the Mojave people of the Colorado River region. We are also producing a videotape of Mojave traditional sites by recording elders speaking about the significance of these sites for cultural preservation and protection of their lands.

Intellectual property rights are retained by the individuals, tribes or communities served.

Internship Program
An integral part of the Storyscape Project is the involvement of the indigenous community in the recording and mapping process. Interns from the community learn about ethnographic techniques and use of all equipment and are encouraged to offer their invaluable advice and perspectives to the overall effort.

Storyscape Project Team
The Storyscape Project team includes dedicated individuals with years of experience in the fields of environmental and indigenous rights activism, ethnography, anthropology, cultural geography, sound and film recording and cartography.

Team members:
Melissa Nelson (Ojibwe), Executive Director, The Cultural Conservancy (Ph. D. candidate in Cultural Ecology) cultural and environmental activist. Philip M. Klasky, Project Director, The Storyscape Project (M. A. in Cultural Geography), cultural and environmental activist. Otis Parrish (Kashaya Pomo), Educational Director, The Cultural Conservancy (M.A. in Anthropology). Colin Farish, Producer/Audio Engineer, Stillwater Sounds Studio. Deborah Rodgers, Cartographer. (M.A. candidate in Geography and Human Environmental Studies). Brett Jacobson, Ethnomusicologist. L. Frank (Tongva), artist, ethnographer.