Main Concerns

The main questions that I have been trying to answer were brought up by fellow class mates that have left comments on my blog throughout the development of this project. For example there was a particular question that asked how would the project get people interested in these stories, history, tribes, and culture if they were outside of the Native American community? What outlets would I sue to reach them?

The project of "Welcome to Native America"started with the idea of a map, its a typography exercise names many Native tribes since 1492. The question I asked myself was how could this project grow from the first step of making a map?

I would like to reach more people, through different mediums and environments. The people that come across the map so far are only through the visits of a retail store located in the Palisades Mall. After meeting Prof. Thomas O'Reilley in person, he suggested this map would benefit greatly in educational environments, such as elementary schools. After discussing with Prof. Moderegger about this idea, he asked the question of whether it would become even more beneficial to display a map like mine in high schools, since it is here where young adults begin to develop a more conscious state of intellect. Whether its in an elementary or higher educational environment, the idea of having maps like mine in public schools would be of a great achievement for me. 

But what happens when these students, teachers or other people that come across a map like mine, want to learn more in depth about individual tribes or Native American nations? That is where the idea of having a website will come in handy. I visualize a website that has a user interface concentrated and designed around  my typographical map. If a website visitor wants to know about the Natives in his or her own individual country for example, he/she would click under the map shape of Guatemala, Surinam, Brazil, or Mexico and be taken to a page that gives the visitor information on images, history, culture, and most importantly if that Native tribe still exists today and current population. 

The Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian publishes a monthly magazine about Native people from across the Americas. Their idea is another media outlet that I think my project could benefit from. If someone who visits the website wishes to receive current news from Native people and their work, artistic merit, or other interesting topics, they may find that a magazine is a great source for this information. 

I could try to reach more people through these three outlets; a map, a website, and a magazine. This of course is just an idea, whether they make sense individually or a as a group is another topic of discussion. But as of now I see a project that could be explored through these outlets and reach more people in a more serious and meaningful way.