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Chapter 11
INTRODUCTION
The territory of the Tlowitsis Nation
1
spans the
coastal area of Northern Vancouver Island, British
Columbia (BC), Canada. These lands have been
occupied and used by members of the Nation since
time immemorial. Seasonal travel routes, food
processing spots, burial and cultural sites and other
named places extend across the entire territory.
Karlukwees, located on remote Turnour Island,
became a central settlement for the Tlowitsis Na-
tion since the turn of the 20
th
century. In the early
1960’s, the provincial government halted essential
services to Turnour Island. With little prospect of
schooling and access to health care, the Tlowitsis
community began to leave the island. In the ensu-
ing diaspora, community members have become
Jon Corbett
University of British Columbia, Canada
Raquel Mann
University of British Columbia, Canada
Tlowitsis Re-Imagined:
The Use of Digital Media to Build
Nation and Overcome Disconnection in
a Displaced Aboriginal Community
ABSTRACT
Using the case study of the Tlowitsis, a dispersed indigenous community in British Columbia, Canada,
this paper explores the role of ICTs, and in particular participatory video, in nation building. Also, the
paper identifes factors that affect both the involvement and exclusion of the membership and addresses
the challenges faced and lessons learned. ICTs, in particular new media technologies, offer great po-
tential to overcome the geographic barriers caused by dispersal. However, it remains uncertain how
they might contribute to the process of nation building. In this regard, the authors present six funda-
mental requirements for nation building, and then use these requirements to structure an analysis of the
Tlowitsis case study.
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-0047-8.ch011