Reclaiming Narratives: Mukurtu and the Heart of Community-Driven Archiving
This week, we explored Mukurtu, a digital platform with a purpose. María Montenegro, Assistant Professor, Global and International Studies Department, hosted the workshop. It was a breath of fresh air, reminding me of what ethical, community-focused digital archiving can achieve.
Mukurtu—pronounced MOOK-oo-too—isn't your average software. It’s an access tool to engage with Indigenous knowledge systems and dissemination. It acknowledges cultural protocols and respects the independence of communities in determining how their narratives, visuals, languages, and histories are communicated with the world. That idea—respecting knowledge ownership and the flow of cultural narratives—really resonated with me.
The roots of Mukurtu trace back to Australia, where it all began with a community's vision: digitizing their heritage, but in a way that truly reflected their values. They called it a "dillybag," a safe space where elders could store cultural treasures and pass them down at the right moment. Over time, Mukurtu evolved into an open-source platform embraced by Indigenous communities around the globe, including right here in California.
Working closely with the Barbareño/Ventureño Band of Mission Indians gave me a glimpse into how transformative this tool can be. For them, it is a way to control their cultural materials—oral histories, songs, photographs, language—all carefully protected and thoughtfully shared. They define who can access what, under what conditions, and in what context.
Mukurtu’s magic lies in its framework, designed to align with community needs:
Communities: Who gets to be part of this digital storytelling? Families, speakers of a language, collaborative groups—each Mukurtu site adapts to its people.
Cultural Protocols: How does sharing happen? Are there rules around ceremonies, gender-specific traditions, or even certain rites of passage? It’s all customizable.
Categories: What helps people navigate this treasure trove of heritage? Every piece is organized with care to make exploration meaningful.
What’s even better is that it doesn't limit narratives or flatten perspectives. Mukurtu allows for multi-layered metadata and rich context by weaving connections between items that tell deeper stories. I can’t help but feel inspired by its adaptability. No two Mukurtu sites are alike—each one grows alongside the community it serves. That’s the beauty of it. I imagine the road ahead, partnering with the BVBMI to co-design a Mukurtu space that feels like home for their cultural materials. For this to work, the first step is always listening—truly hearing what they want to share, and equally, what they don't.
This workshop highlighted what it is like to build a structure that honors Indigenous ways of understanding the world that breathes life into their stories instead of locking them up in static archives. It’s about reclaiming the narrative, embedding Indigenous values into the fabric of the digital age, and creating something that empowers the community toward their goals. This week’s workshop gave us the tools to begin, but the heart of this project will always belong to the community. And, as we step into this process together, I can’t help but feel deeply grateful to watch it unfold.
