Wikipedia and Indigenous peoples (UiT HIS-3005)

Wikipedia and indigenous peoples
(UiT HIS-3005)

Objectives of Wikipedia class

This class will provide you with knowledge about the different Wikimedia projects, practical skills to edit Wikipedia, and ways to contribute to the conservation/vitalization of indigenous languages using these tools.

Please do this before class

Register an account on your language version of Wikipedia
Sign up on the Wikimedia Dashboard where all your edits will be tracked. The code to join the dashboard is: styqipmj. This video explains how you do it.
Write something short on your User page. This video explains how you do it.
Write a short comment on our discussion page. This video explains how you do it.

Resources on Indigenous languages and the digital world

Northern Sámi Wikipedia
Wikitongues – Global volunteer movement expanding access to language revitalization.
UN International Year of Indigenous Languages 2019
The Digital Language Diversity Project – European initiative for regional and minority languages in the digital world
Whose Language?– Global campaign to center the knowledge of marginalized communities (the majority of the world) on the internet
Check out this flyer to get inspiration on how you can contribute

Not sure how to edit Wikipedia?

You can post questions on the Discussion page or contact us at wikimedia@wikimedia.no if you need help with editing.

Wikimedia Norge

Millions of people around the world use Wikipedia every day. Wikipedia is actually among the world's 5 most visited websites. Not everyone knows that the free encyclopedia Wikipedia is written and maintained by voluntary contributors. Everyone can contribute their knowledge on Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects! Wikipedia is one of several Wikimedia projects. Other major Wikimedia projects include Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata. Wikipedia and the other Wikimedia projects have a central role in Wikimedia Norges's work.

Wikimedia Norge is a NGO that works to make knowledge free and accessible to everyone by supporting contributors on the Wikimedia projects through institutional collaboration and course activities. We have projects for sharing of knowledge in both Bokmål, Nynorsk and Northern Sámi, and also projects for sharing of photo collections and archive material. By describing the world, we also change it a little. Here you can read more about our work related to Sámi knowledge online and our work on increasing the diversity among Wikipedia contributors and in the content on Wikipedia.

This event follows Wikimedia Norge's friendly space policy.

This Wikimedia Norge education program is supported by funding from The Sámi parliament.

Wikipedia class sessions

Whose knowledge is shared on the internet? What consequence does it have that the majority of the editors on Wikipedia are white men from the western part of the world?

Using the English Wikipedia article about Indigenous peoples as a starting point we will in the sessions below give introductions to Wikipedia, invite the students to discussions and problematization about indigenous knowledge and representation in the digital world.

Session 1: Friday October 2 from CET 14–16

What is Wikipedia: how does it work and why does it work?
What content and contributor gaps exist on Wikipedia?
Can you find examples of how indigenous peoples and history are represented or not on your language version of Wikipedia?