The map just might be the territory

October 7, 2018 1:49 PM

Counter Mapping: “To assume that people would look at the earth only from a vantage point that is above and looking straight down doesn’t consider the humanity of living on the landscape." ... The Zuni maps have a memory, a particular truth. They convey a relationship to place grounded in ancestral knowledge and sustained presence on the land.

Modern maps don’t have a memory: ‘More lands have been lost to Native peoples probably through mapping than through physical conflict.’
posted by Rumple (5 comments total)

Wow. Those are amazing.
posted by notsnot at 3:43 PM on October 7, 2018

So interesting. The artwork is beautiful.

Reminds me of the Snake River Map Rock. There's been some argument about the meaning, although everyone agrees that the location and carvings must be significant. My first reaction on seeing it was that it must be a map.
posted by BlueHorse at 7:05 PM on October 7, 2018 [2 favorites]

Profound. The idea of mapping as a way to represent deep relationship to place is a feature of Le Guin's magnum opus, Always Coming Home.
posted by domdib at 6:00 AM on October 8, 2018 [1 favorite]

The maps are beautiful, and the article is well worth reading.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:18 AM on October 8, 2018

This was illuminating to read and the maps are beautiful. Thank you for posting this!
posted by the thorn bushes have roses at 9:22 AM on October 8, 2018