They have gathered
... to build a nest
Project Overview
Iñupiat have specific scientific knowledges of our homeland and its changes over time that complement and extend western science. We have this traditional knowledge documented in various ways and stored in homes, schools, and organizational buildings. However, these collections are scattered and at risk of loss from housing and building insecurity, deteriorating infrastructure, mold, inadequate storage, and environmental crises. Making accessible digital versions of these knowledges is imperative. Creating digital archives is one part of the solution, increasing local capacities for digital archiving and data literacies is another.
Project Leads
Dr. Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq She/They
Iñupiaq, Noorvik Native Community
Associate Professor of Technical & Scientific Communication at Virginia Tech
Cana Uluak Itchuaqiyaq is an Iñupiaq scholar, an Aqqaluk Trust PhD alum, and a member of the Noorvik Native Community. Her goal as a scholar is to use the skills she developed through her academic and cultural education to directly benefit the Iñupiat of Alaska. Cana uses her skills as a technical communicator, grant writer, and education strategist to help coordinate the Rematriation Project. As the daughter of Caleb Lumen Pungowiyi, Cana also coordinates with her family and research team to assure Caleb’s legacy is documented respectfully and accurately.
Lucy Aviññaq Boyd She/Her
Iñupiaq, Buckland Native Community
Iñuunialiqput Director at Aqqaluk Trust
Lucy Aviññaq Boyd is from Buckland where she grew up "on the knee" and listening to the stories of NANA from her grandfather, Lester Hadley Sr., who helped raise her. She earned her degree in Accounting & Alaska Native Studies, and her mission is to help Native Alaskan communities grow, develop, and sustain our cultures and Native language—to not just survive but thrive. She serves as the team's main liaison between the team and Aqqaluk Trust.
Aqqaluk Trust
Native Alaskan Organization
Aqqaluk Trust acts as the fiscal sponsor for this project and receives indirect, “first share” grant monies to fund administrative costs and other needs of Aqqaluk Trust. Aqqaluk Trust has created a partnership agreement that all partners on this project will need to agree to. This agreement will serve to protect the needs and concerns of Aqqaluk Trust as they work with outside partners.
Chris Lindgren He/Him
Associate Professor of Technical Communication at North Carolina State University
Chris is originally from a family farm just north of Fargo, North Dakota—ancestral lands of the Ashinabek Nation and Dakota-Lakota-Nakota Nation. He's excited to share his joy for learning about data with the communities in the NANA region, and learn more about how data can support their self-determination. He brings his specialities in communicating with data, computer coding, and digital technologies to help design the online interface and help coordinate other technological aspects of this project.
Kara Long She/Her
Assistant Director of Library Metadata Services at Virginia Tech
Kara actively supports the creation, documentation, and maintenance of digital collection metadata. Her research interests include adapting interview techniques to better understand domain-specific metadata needs; crosswalks between born-digital and traditional descriptive cataloging; and sustainable digital collections. She will use her expertise to support the quality, discoverability, and accessibility of the collection data, and document and contextualize the descriptive work.
Andi Ogier She/Her
Assistant Dean and Director of Data Services at Virginia Tech
Andi (she/her) is a librarian who has worked in libraries for over twenty years, and has worked at Virginia Tech since 2008. She currently serves as Assistant Dean for Data Services and Faculty Affairs in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. She brings her knowledge of data services, university funding, and more to support the team's work to develop a community model of digital archiving. She enjoys knitting, helping people find things, and hanging out in the Arctic. She has eaten maktak in Alaska and Greenland, and really wants to learn how to cure and smoke salmon.
Former Leads
Corina Qaaġraq Kramer She/Her
Iñupiaq, Kotzebue Native Community
Owner at Mumik Consulting, LLC
Corina Qaaġraq Kramer is an Iñupiaq leader living in Kotzebue, Alaska, working on initiatives to promote Iñupiaq language, culture, and Iñupiaq well-being for her people. She provides transformative strategic planning for Indigenous-serving entities and advocates for equity & sovereignty in community-led work. Along with her sister, Cana, they spearheaded The Rematriation Project and serves as another important community liaison.
Dylan Paisaq Itchuaqiyaq They/Them
Iñupiaq, Noorvik Native Community
Media & Metadata Intern at Aqqaluk Trust
Dylan Paisaq Itchuaqiyaq (they/them) is a Rematriation Team community partner through Aqqaluk Trust. Paisaq is a tribal member of the Noorvik Native Community in Northwest Alaska. They work with the REMA team adding cultural knowledge to our collection’s metadata, act as a community member at conferences and presentations, and are currently learning the basics of coding to assist the team. Dylan is a visual design student at Virginia Western Community College and will graduate Spring of 2025. They enjoy all forms of design and art creation and have illustrated two cultural children’s books for their tribe.
Erin Yunes She/Her
Professor and Departmental Coordinator in the School of Art at American College of the Mediterranean
Erin Yunes recently completed a CLIR Postdoctoral Fellowship at Virginia Tech, focusing on community data for The Rematriation Project. Her research focuses on broadband equality, digital inclusivity, and access to cultural heritage, focusing on equitable access to resources.
REMA Team (Present and Past)
Corinne Guimont
Director of Virginia Tech Publishing & Press
Corinne works with researchers and authors to create, share, and publish digital scholarship using a variety of tools and platforms. She currently serves as the Director of Virginia Tech Publishing & Press within the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Corinne has a background in information science, digital archives and preservation, digital humanities, and textbook publishing.
Julia Westblade
Digital Imaging Coordinator
Julia Westblade grew up in Southern Michigan. She received her BA in English and History from Augustana College and a Masters in Library and Information Science with a graduate certification in Archival Administration from Wayne State University. She is now the Digital Imaging Librarian at Virginia Tech’s Newman Library where she heads the Digital Imaging Lab producing digital facsimiles of the collections at Virginia Tech.
Hollis Wittman
Metadata Consultant for the Humanities
Hollis Wittman fulfills a joint role between Metadata Services and Virginia Tech Publishing & Press in the VT Libraries specializing in digital humanities and metadata. Her research interests include linked data for music performance, computer music research, representation of marginalized communities in archival preservation settings, and crowd sourced preservation. She lives in Blacksburg, VA with her dog and collects bits of yarn to make into very ugly blankets.
Kimani Jackson
Research Assistant
Kimani Jackson is a Political Science graduate at Virginia Tech. Her role on the team has been to organize metadata, conduct research on the best ways to produce ethical research for Indigenous communities, and strategically format her findings in a user-friendly way. Has has loved the work that she has been able to do as a member of the team, and she is excited to watch the project fully come to life.
Michael DeThomasis
Research Assistant
Michael DeThomasis is a Psychology graduate of Virginia Tech. He has passions for social justice, social psychology, and environmentalism and looks for ways to bring these areas into his work. Outside of work he enjoys going on walks, learning new recipes, and taking care of his many plants.
Amilia N. Evans
Research Assistant
Amilia N. Evans is a PhD graduate from the Rhetoric and Writing doctoral program at Virginia Tech. She is a subject matter expert in technical and professional communication, rhetorician, othermother, and daughter. Her academic research interests are in technical and professional communication, African American rhetorics, intercultural communication, and Black feminisms.
Chloe Jade Robertson
Research Assistant
Chloe Jade Robertson is a PhD graduate from the Rhetoric and Writing Program at Virginia Tech. She specializes in cultural rhetorics and technical communication. She helped the team develop the initial scripting work for the data literacy curriculum.
Marissa Buccilli
Research Assistant
Marissa Buccilli is a Ph.D. graduate in Rhetoric and Writing at Virginia Tech. Prior to beginning her PhD, she worked as an Academic Advisor at the University of Tennessee Knoxville. Her interests, broadly speaking, engage with technical communication, visual and cultural rhetorics, data visualization, and human-centered design.
Swati Lodha
Research Assistant
Swati Lodha is a M.S. graduate in Computer Science at Virginia Tech. She has experience working as a software engineer and helped the project assess what are the best content management systems for digital archiving.
Temitope Ojedele
Research Assistant
Temitope Ojedele is a PhD Student in the Rhetoric and Writing Program at Virginia Tech. She helped the team develop the initial scripting work for the data literacy curriculum.